The Wanderer
by Obbiejoe
Summary: 10 years after the Diablo Attack - the second one - Please read forwards preceeding all Chapters
1. Chapter 1 The Wanderer

I in no way profit from these writings. Kim Possible and assorted cast are the property of Walt Disney. The following fan fiction in no way reflects Disney's original intent nor its intended characterization of any of the parties, real or fictional, that are contained in this story.

This story is rated a hard M for language, adult situations and descriptions suitable for adult readers only.

While hitting a block on my other stories I started paying around with an old idea of mine and came up with this. I'd appreciate your comments and ideas on whether the story is worth continuing. I kind of like it but… well, it's my idea.

Now that you have been warned… please read and enjoy. R&R appreciated.

**The Wanderer**

By: obbiejoe

Chapter 1: The Wanderer

As he walked the streets in search of his contact he noticed that the town had defiantly seen better days. Every shop or home he had passed was in desperate need of a coat of paint, and a thorough cleaning wouldn't hurt either.

He had seen several boarded up buildings and very few people. At the edge of town had been a sign that boasted of a population of more than ten thousand, the sign was apparently several years out of date. He calculated from what he had seen that the population was most likely closer to two thousand, and he was seldom wrong in his estimates.

But even at two thousand this was the largest concentration of people he had been around in close to five years. He had been wandering for close to ten years now, since he had no where he really needed, or wanted, to be he had keep himself sane by providing his services to those in need of his special talents.

Living off the land as he did, most of the time he simply performed his service and left knowing that those most in need of his talents were most often those that could not afford to pay for them. A meal or two and a place to stay while he was 'working' were most often the total extent of any payment he expected or received.

He did collect payment when those he helped could afford it, but most often he used what he collected to support others as his wandering went on.

Most people, if asked, would tell you that he drifted aimlessly. That he never really had a destination in mind. That was very close to the truth, but his wandering course somehow unerringly to lead him to those most in need. Very few knew why and almost none were aware of how he did what he did, but to those he supplied his 'services' to his presence was looked upon as a godsend. To those who were causing the problems he 'corrected' he seemed sent by the devil himself.

Ten years ago services like those he rendered were not needed, Ten tears ago there was law, ten years ago there was order, ten years ago… he was in love and, for a time, a very short time, he had known he was loved in return.

That all changed two days before the day people referred to now as 'The Day of the Diablo's' Very few people even remembered that the first attack had been four days previous, even fewer remembered the short pudgy blond boy that had been part of the team that had defeated the first wave of the attack. As horrific as it had been no one really thought much about that first wave at all. It was what happened four days later that everyone remembered, that was the day the world changed.

For him, it had changed two days before that devastating day of destruction, when everything he had hoped for, everything he loved and thought was now within his grasp, was torn away from him in one night.

The Wanderer set aside his thoughts when he spotted the man he was looking for. He was hiding in the shadows of an old bakery and evidently thought he was undetectable, and to anyone else he would have been.

Sliding silently into the shadows himself the Wanderer checked the area to assure himself that not only was his contact alone he was also what he was purported to be. Many times in the past those he fought against had attempted to lure him into a trap. They had never succeeded and had lost more than a few of their numbers in their misguided attempts.

When he was sure that this was a legitimate contact the Wanderer 'introduced' himself. His introductions varied and had been known to spoil a few pairs of pants. Completely unseen by the waiting contact, even though he was keeping a sharp eye out for any trouble, he slid noiselessly behind him and clamped a hand over his mouth to stifle any unwanted sounds his unexpected appearance may produce.

When he had the contacts attention, and he was sure he did, he whispered the first half of the pass code he had arranged. "Lotus" was whispered into the waiting contacts ear just as the hand covering his mouth was removed. After a quick breath there was a whisper in return "Bloom"

Satisfied that he had the right man the Wanderer pulled back into the deeper shadows. "I hear you have a problem."

The man turned and swallowed nervously. The dark form before him was exactly as he had been described, tall, of indeterminate age with a pair of old style colt 45's strapped to his hips. But what really convinced the man he was meeting the right person was what was strapped on his back.

With the black leather hilt just visible above his left shoulder was what he was sure was the sleek and deadly sword that he had been hearing about for almost eight years. The sword that he had heard was supposedly the wanderer's weapon of choice.

Nervously the man stammered out, "A…are y…you the Ch... Chosen One?"

The Wanderers eyes narrowed, he hadn't heard that title for close to eight years, not since he left Yamanochi. As far as he knew no one here in the States even knew that title, let alone that it was his.

The voice coming from the darkness sounded dangerous, "Where did you hear that?" The man didn't even see the tall stranger move, one moment the sword was strapped to his back, the next he felt the sharp blade at his throat. "And I better like your answer."

The contacts eyes opened wide in fear. "She told me… honest to God… she said that was what I should call you."

The blade moved a bit closer to the contacts throat, almost cutting the skin. "Who is this 'she' you are you referring to? Is she a local?"

With wide eyes the contact spoke quickly but quietly, "No… we'd never seen her until a few weeks ago, she was the one who asked us to contact you."

The blade moved away from the contacts throat, but not to far away. "What does this girl look like? And why didn't she come herself?"

A bit more relaxed now that he could no longer feel the cold steel at his throat the man whispered back, "She's an oriental girl, short black hair. She has a scar on her left cheek. She couldn't come to meet you because she has a broken leg. It happened in the last attack six days ago."

The blade was suddenly on the tall strangers back again without the contact seeing any movement at all. "Take me to her. We'll talk there."

Ten minutes later the contact was knocking a strange combination of short knocks and pauses on a basement door six blocks away from where they had started. He looked around and was startled when the stranger appeared as if by magic. He hadn't seen him once since they left the shadows of the bakery. The contact had stopped once thinking the stranger was no longer following him when a voice came from the shadows, "Keep going, I'm still here."

Entering the basement the stranger spoke first, "Where is she."

The woman who answered the door took one look at the eyes of the stranger and then to the other man, when the man softly called out, "The oriental girl." she pointed to curtain at the back of the room.

Walking to the curtain the stranger pulled it aside and looked in the adjoining room before entering. There was a slim form lying on a cot against one wall. Even in the dim light the stranger recognized the form immediately. "Yori" was all the others heard as the tall dark clad man made his way into the room.

They saw his eyes scan the room as she walked to the cot. Apparently satisfied that there was no immediate danger the man removed his hat and knelt beside the cot.

As soon as his hat was removed the woman gasped slightly. The shock or unkempt blonde hair and boyish face made the stranger look no older than her own son yet the stories that had been circulating for the last eight or nine years described a whirlwind of death and destruction who neither asked for, nor gave mercy.

There was compassion in the large brown eyes that looked down on the girl on the cot. Then his hands reached out and hovered about six inches over her body as they moved across her from head to toe.

Once the circuit was complete the woman saw his hand return to the exact spot where she had, three days ago, set and splinted the girl's broken leg. The stranger zeroed in on it immediately even though there was a blanket hiding the splint.

She saw the young man close his eyes for a moment but when he opened them the brown eyes had disappeared and in their place were swirling blue orbs that seemed to glow.

As everyone in the room watched in shock the stranger placed his hands on the girl's leg and the glow that was seen in his eyes formed around his hands.

The shock in the room was evident by the silence. It wasn't even three seconds before the stranger removed his hands and the glow faded from both his hands and his eyes.

Three seconds after that the oriental girl, who had been sleeping fitfully for the last three days opened her eyes. As soon as she saw the blonde stranger leaning over her she smiled, "Stoppable-sama. You have come."

Everyone saw a smile grow on the previously stoic face, "If I had know it was you I would have been here sooner Yori."

Then the blonde stranger flipped the blanket off the girl's leg and started unwinding the bindings that held the splint together.

The woman in the room moved quickly and placed her hands on the strangers, "You can't do that. This girl has a broken leg. You're going to aggravate the injury."

The stranger looked up at the woman and smiled a half smile that the woman found strangely appealing. "I think if you take a look you'll see she's fine. She can move around on her own as soon as we get this splint off."

The woman saw the man continue to smile at her but he was no longer trying to unwind the bindings. Curious the woman carefully removed the bandage covering the injury expecting to see the torn flesh she had just re-bandaged less than two hours ago.

As the last of the bandage was removed the woman gasped, all she saw was unblemished skin where two hours ago was a wound that should have taken almost a month to even heal properly.

As she stared wide eyed at the area she heard the young girl speak, "If the Chosen One has indicated that I am no longer injured than I promise you, I am not. The Chosen one has never lied to my knowledge. I believe he is incapable lying even if he wished too do so."

While the woman continued unwinding the bandages she heard the soft voice if the stranger, "I don't deserve that title anymore Yori. I've had to do things that make me unworthy of such a title."

The woman heard the sorrow and compassion in the voice and instantly revised the estimate she had reached after hearing all the stories. This was not a man who killed lightly or without feeling as she had heard.

Yori's soft response was heard clearly in the quite of the room, "It is not the title that makes the man Ron-sama. It is the man who makes the title and we at Yamanochi feel privileged at the small part we have played in guiding you along the path to becoming the man you have become. The true Chosen One."

Then the voice of the Wanderer took on a timber of resolve, "Why are you here Yori? Why here? Why now?"

She saw the young oriental girl reach out and gently place her hand on the arm of the stranger, "I was sent Ron-sama. Sensei sent me because we have reports that the Vanguard is headed here."

Everyone in the room watched as the strangers eyes once again flared with blue fire. The voice that they heard next was deeper, stronger and menacing. "The Vanguard? Here?"

Yori sat up on the cot, "Yes Ron-sama. That is why I asked they send for you."

Everyone in the room watched as the blonde stranger rose quickly to his feet. The room seemed filled with energy as the stranger spoke, "Will he be here Yori?"

Before Yori could answer a man stood and spoke quickly, "I'm Bob Hummel, I guess I'm kind of the leader around here. What exactly is this Vanguard thing?"

The stranger turned to look at him, "Your worst nightmare Bob. It's the elite of the elite. The Vanguard is Drakken's private little army within an army. It's the group he sends out to eliminate you if you've become a threat. What I can't figure out is why he's sending them here?"

Yori spoke up quickly. "We believe it is because her parents and brothers have taken refuge near here Ron-sama. We believe he plans to capture them and execute them in front of her."

Everyone watched as the Wanderer who the oriental girl kept referring to as Ron-sama, Stoppable-sama or the Chosen One turned to look at the girl that now knew as Yori. They all took one step backward as a blue aura sparked into existence and surrounded the Wanderer.

When his voice reached their ears again they heard the menace in his voice again but much stronger than before. "What do you mean in front of her? She's dead Yori, I saw the body myself before they… they…"

Even Yori was not immune to the fear of seeing Ron as he was now and she cowered a bit further onto the cot, "Ron-sama please. In the last three weeks we have discovered that the body you saw was a decoy and that the Emperor has kept her secretly imprisoned as a trophy and slave."

Bob got up enough courage to step forward again, "Hold up a second, who is this 'HER' you keep referring to?"

The Wanderer, still surrounded with the writhing blue aura, turned to look at Bob. Bob took a small step backward but maintained his gaze. The aura paled slightly and the Wanderers voice was a bit less frightening when he answered, "She's referring to Kim Possible Bob. I'm sure you remember her don't you?"

There was a sudden intake of breath in the room when the Wanderer spoke the name. It was the woman who spoke first, "Kim Possible? I thought she was dead?"

The Wanderer turned to look at the woman, "So did I ma'am, so did I." Then his gaze returned to Yori, "Are you sure Yori? Who told you she was still alive?"

Instead of answering Yori reached down to a small rucksack next to the cot and rummaged through it for a moment until she produced a turquoise device that looked like and old MP3 player. She held it out to the Wanderer with a gesture of respect.

Everyone in the room saw the swirling blue aura disappear as soon as the device was brought into view. The Wanderer reached out toward the device slowly as if deciding whether he should touch it or not.

Yori watched Ron reach for the Kimmunicator in her hand but saw his hand stop inches away as his eyes sought out hers with a clear question written on his features.

Without hesitation Yori raised her eyes to the blonde warrior, "Yes Ron-sama, he is alive. He contacted us three weeks ago after trying to track you down and contact you."

Everyone watched as a small smile was seen on the stranger's face, the first they had seen since he arrived. They heard a quiet 'BEEP' as he pressed one button on the device. Moments later a tinny voice issued from a small speaker. "Hold on Yori, I think I have a track on Ron. He was seen a few miles…"

The voice stopped suddenly and a silence was cast over the room for a moment before the voice sounded again in an excited tone. "HOLY SHIT! RON! YORI FOUND YOU!"

Ron's smile widened at the tone of the voice emanating from the device he was holding. "Better watch your language Wadester, there are ladies present."

The voice softened but the excitement was still evident, "My God Ron, I've been trying to track you down for weeks. Ever since I figured out how to get around Drakken's jamming signals and wormed my way into his surveillance satellites. Thank God Yori found you, I've got news you are defiantly going to want to hear."

When the stranger spoke again it was if he had shed years of his life, the voice sounded more attune to his apparent years than the tone he had been using before. "Wade! Yori said there's a chance that Kim's still alive. Is that true?"

The voice answered immediately, "More than a chance Ron. It's a fact. I saw her myself."

The stranger's voice took on an excited tone now, "Where Wade? When?"

The answer brought a smile to the strangers face again, "The last time I spoke to her was about a month ago Ron, just before I was able to escape. She's waiting for you Ron. Her last words to me were, 'Find Ron and tell him to get his head in the game and get me the hell out of here.'"

The stranger's voice was almost cheerful, "Just point me in the right direction Wade. I'll do the rest."

The tinny answer was quick in coming, "From what I've been able to get from Drakken's systems she's with the Vanguard Ron. Kim's mom and dad are somewhere close to where you are now and that's where they are headed. They want to… to… they want to kill them Ron, all of them and they want Kim to watch."

Shockingly the stranger smiled, "Yea, Yori told me about that. That is so not gonna happen Wade, not on my watch. Where exactly are they Wade? Kim's mom and dad I mean."

The voice sounded again with the clear sound of clicking in the background, "I can't tell for sure Ron. Somewhere Northeast of you, a few miles at most but Jim and Tim must be cloaking them somehow, I can't get a solid lock."

Ron looked over at Bob, "Hey Bob? Is there anywhere northeast of here where someone could hide? A cave? Anything?"

Bob looked over at Ron, "Well, there's an old mine a few miles in that direction. It's been played out for years but I think there are still a couple of outbuildings standing. And of course there's the mine itself."

Everyone in the room watched as Ron turned to face the northeast before raising his hand palm outward. That strange glow enveloped his hand for a moment before a wide smile appeared on his face. "Got em."

Then Ron raised the strange turquoise device again, "I know where the Possible's are Wade. How far away is the Vanguard?"

The clicking sound resumed before the tinny voice answered, "Even if they don't stop and make camp the next few nights the full force is still almost three days away Ron. But there is a small party a lot closer. It looks like only three but they'll be coming close by mid morning tomorrow."

Ron's smile widened. "You wouldn't happen to be able to tell if Mr. Perfect is in that advance group would you Wade?"

Everyone in the room heard the humor in the answer, "As a matter of fact I can Ron. The advance party is just him and a couple of battle droids."

Ron's smile took on a sinister look as he turned to look at Yori, "Hey Yori, you feel well enough for a little fun?"

The normally quite and reserved young Japanese girl snickered as she slid from the cot and bowed to the stranger. "It would be my honor to join the Chosen One for his… fun."

Bob stepped forward boldly, "How many of us do you want to go with you."

The smile on the face of the young man widened, "None Bob. I need you guys to hunker down here and get ready to receive some guests."

Bob looked incredulous, "But according to what I just heard there were a couple of battle droids coming. You can't possible expect to take on two of those monstrosities by yourself, I've seen them in action."

The strangers smile widened as his hand came up and he gently touched the hilt of the sword strapped to his back, "I won't be alone Bob. I've got a little help of my own."

To be continued? with – "Meeting Mr. Perfect"

Page 8 of 8


	2. Chapter 2 Meeting Mr Perfect

I in no way profit from these writings. Kim Possible and assorted cast are the property of Walt Disney. The following fan fiction in no way reflects Disney's original intent nor its intended characterization of any of the parties, real or fictional, that are contained in this story.

This chapter gets a little dark. For those of you that have had the patience to wait for updates to my 'New Beginnings' series I started writing this because I have no experience writing things this dark and needed the practice without contaminating the original story. Any comments or suggestions are welcome to help me home those skills.

Please read and, those of you who can, enjoy. And as always R&R

* * *

**The Wanderer**

_By: obbiejoe_

**Chapter 2 – Meeting Mr. Perfect.**

Ron knew there wasn't much time but the habit he had developed during the last eight years had served him well so decided his first order of business should be getting the lay of the land from someone who knew what was what, in this case that meant Bob.

It took only a few minutes to get the four people, six if he counted himself and Yori, sitting at a large table that was spread with plans for what Ron recognized instantly as strike – counterstrike scenarios. As he usually did, Ron opened the discussion. "So tell me Bob, how many of Drakken's goons are around here?"

Ron watched the four locals flinch when he said 'Drakken'. Calling the so called ruler of the world by anything other than either 'Your Majesty' or 'Emperor' was punishable by death. Ron was pleased when they quickly settled down, others had not and had refused hear Drakken referred to or call him by any but the decreed titles no matter how privately they met.

He got even more hopeful when Bob answered him. "Honestly, His M… ah… Drakken doesn't have any troops stationed here any more. When the mine petered out they just left lock stock and barrel and took what ever they could carry of ours with them."

While that sounded like something Drakken would do it didn't explain a few things. "Then how did Yori get hurt? I thought it was during an attack?"

Bob was quick to explain, "Oh it was. It just wasn't from any of… Drakken's people. It was the scavengers that came in behind him. They set themselves up in the City Hall and told us the town belonged to them now, anyone who stood up to them was shot where he stood. There wasn't much we could do at the time since Drakken's people took anything that could be used as a weapon with them."

Ron steepled his fingers in front of him, it was a common story and one he had heard many times over the last eight years. Some of the roaming gangs were worse than others, some were just plain degenerates, but a couple of times, not many, but a couple, the gangs actually brought a bit of law and order back to the town. He didn't want to think about those times and the decisions he had been forced to make so he gestured to Bob to keep going so he could get a feel for the situation this town faced.

It was the woman, who had introduced herself as Mary, who picked up the story. "We've had to go so far as to hide the children Mr.…. ah…Sama. My sister's fourteen year old daughter was one of the first ones to catch their eye. They took her and kept her for almost six months before they, well, I guess they got tired of her and threw her out. She hasn't been right since we found her wandering around without a stitch on a few hours after they tossed her out."

Mary sat back in her seat fearfully when Ron's eyes flared. "Have they taken any others?"

Bob answered this time and a relieved Mary relaxed a bit when Ron shifted his attention to him. "Constantly, most times more than one at a time. That's what… ah… Miss Yori got involved in, one of their sweeps for new girls. They noticed her and five of them came to get her. We helped as much as we could but it was her that took them down all but one of them, and she did it with a broken leg."

Ron looked over at Yori and saw the small nod telling him that she was fine and that what he had heard so far was the truth. Bob's voice brought Ron's attention back to him. "We were able to hide the bodies but it's been six days or so. It's not unusual for the sweep team to take a few days to return, they like to have a few days alone with the new girl before they bring her back to the others. If they haven't missed them yet that will soon, very soon, and when they do, well, they'll send out a larger party to find them."

Ron made his decision, the Vanguard was still several hours away, hours he could spend making sure that the area around here, where he intended to bring the Possible family, was safe. Looking at Bob he asked his first post decision question. "Are all of them still holed up in the City Hall?" When he got an affirmative response he asked his second, and last, question. "And just where is this 'City Hall'."

Bob stood and turned a map around so Ron could see it and then pointed out where they were and where the City Hall was located. Ron stood and looked at Yori. "I'll be back in a little while Yori. You guys got the first five, the rest are mine."

Everyone stared open mouthed as Yori, the girl who had taken down four of those monsters by herself just smiled and bowed her head with a small, "Hai, Chosen One. I shall rest while you cleanse the town of those vermin."

As Yori stood and walked toward the cot she had been resting on earlier the others at the table grew even more fearful of the young man who had just been in their midst when he flared a dazzling blue for a moment and then… simply vanished.

As they stared at the spot where the Wanderer had been moments before they heard Yori's voice call to them from the cot. "I believe the Chosen One requested you make preparations for visitors. There will be four of them, two adults and two young men who would be almost twenty by now. They are very dear to the Chosen one and he would wish them to be comfortable when they arrive."

Yori suppressed a small giggle when the four people at the table all but tripped over themselves leaving the room. She knew they would have had suitable accommodations ready even if she had not spoken but couldn't resist the temptation. Calming herself she laid back and closed her eyes with a small smile on her face knowing that tomorrow would she would be witness to at least a little of the Chosen One's long delayed vengeance.

Across town, in an out of the way back alley, a shimmering light coalesced into the form of a young man wearing a red and black jersey. The last bit of colorful light to die was a blue swirl in the eyes of the teenager. He walked out of the alley moments later and smiled as he turned toward the large building that had, at one time, been the political center of the city.

Seeming without a care in the world the young man casually skipped up the wide stairway in front of the building with his hands in his pockets and whistling a tune under his breath. Just as he reached the top of the stairs two large men who hadn't seen a shower in months walked out of the shadows and held their hands up to stop the young man from going any further.

The young man stopped and smiled up at the two men. "Hi. I'm here to apply for the job." The two thugs looked at each other for a moment before the largest of them looked back at the young man with a snarl on his face.

"There ain't no jobs here. 'specially for someone like you."

The young man gave them a crestfallen look. "Aww gee. You mean I came all the way over here for nothing?"

The shorter of the two smiled and leaned toward the larger man whispering to him. The large man looked over at his cohort and smiled before turning to the teenager again. "Now that I think about it, there is a job we need you to do. Come with us."

The teenager smiled widely and followed the first man back into the shadows as the second man fell in behind the teen. Exactly seven seconds later the teen walked back out of the shadows whistling again as he wiped at a curious dark stain on the sleeve of his jersey. Walking up to and into the front doors of the old City Hall the teen looked around for a moment before calling out as he walked further into the building. "HELLO! IS ANYONE HERE?"

Just as her reached the old reception desk that was littered with bottles and cans, most of which having had contained alcohol at one time, another man, equally filthy entered from a hallway. "HEY! How'd you get in here? Where were Mike and Carl?"

The teen turned and indicated the door he had just entered through, "Oh, you mean those two guys outside?" When the man raised a pistol at the teen he simply smiled at him. "Ya know, they were kind of rude. They told me to do something I really, really didn't want to and when I said no they actually told me I didn't have a choice. Anyway, they got so insistent that I had to kill them."

The man with the pistol smirked at the teenage. "Yea sure, and just how did you manage to do that smart ass."

With a smile on his face the young man's hand swung up so quickly the guard hadn't even seen him begin the movement. The flash of a glowing blue blade lit the area momentarily and just as the now decapitated head of the man flew from his shoulders the teen softly said. "Like this."

As the teen walked back into the hallway the guard had come from he started to shimmer in a blue light. Before he took three steps the teen was gone and in his place was the form of the Wanderer sliding a glowing blue sword into the scabbard on his back.

The next ten minutes would have been extremely confusing to anyone who was watching the building from the outside. The sound of gunfire and yells seemed to come from every room that had been occupied at the same time. A strange blue light lit the windows seemingly at random moving from room to room and from floor to floor with no discernable pattern.

At the end of ten minutes there was silence, complete silence. Lights that had been on still blazed in the windows but none of the previously constant noise of habitation could be heard. Suddenly the doors opened and seventeen young girls dressed in rags and sheets slowly walked down the steps and into the street followed by a tall dark clad man with a sword strapped to his back.

At the edge of town, on the wooden sign that proclaimed 'Entering Woodbury' and boasted a population of ten thousand, a blue light carved letters deep into the wood. When the blue light dissipated carved in the wood beneath the population was the notation.

**THIS TOWN PROTECTED BY RON STOPPABLE! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.**

Instead of returning to the basement meeting room Ron spent the next forty five minutes making sure the girls he had released were returned to their homes. He handed each child into the arms of their elated parents after touching their forehead to remove the worst of the torment that had gone through. Not all but enough so they had a more than even chance at full recovery.

The last child he was forced to leave with a family that was not her own when he was quietly informed that her parents had been killed trying to protect her when she had been taken. The family he left her with had been neighbors and promised him they would take care of her as though she were their own and, after searching their faces, he believed them.

When he reached the basement he repeated the odd knock that his original contact had used as a signal and the door was answered once again by Mary. Mary quickly escorted him to the back room where he saw Bob and the other two who had not given him their names sitting at the table while Yori rested peacefully on the cot.

As soon as the others saw who had entered they stood. Bob looked hesitant but after a moment asked the question they were all most likely thinking. "Well, is there a chance of getting rid of them?"

Without a smile Ron sat at the table. "It's already done Bob. I'm afraid you'll have to do a bit of a cleanup at the City Hall though, none of them would willingly leave in peace. I also found several girls there and I returned them to their families."

The three men sat down quietly. It was Bob who broke the ensuing silence. "John, you better get a crew together and get started on that… cleanup. Try and start before morning if you can, the less people who see what happened in there the better. And you better pick up those other five while your at it."

One of the men stood and Ron reached out and grabbed his arm as he walked past. "Try not to include the parents of any of the girls who had been taken. There are three more of them in there who won't be going home, it was too late to help them by the time I got there." The man looked down at the stranger sitting at the table and saw the sorrow etched on his face.

He hesitantly reached down and took hold of the stranger's hand. "I understand." As soon as his arm was released he slowly made his way out of the room and Ron heard the outer door close softly moments later.

Ron looked over at Bob who was staring at the tabletop. "Bob? I'm going to get the Possible's in a second. Where should I bring them. Here?"

Bob looked up and wiped his eyes before he answered. "Ah… No. We've got a few people getting one of the vacant houses ready for them. Miss Yori told us there would be four of them, is that right?"

Ron lifted his hand toward the Northeast again and the remaining two men again witnessed the strange blue glow for a moment before Ron answered. "Actually, it looks like there are six, another older man and a young woman. I think Mr. Possible's brother and his daughter are with them, will that be a problem?"

Bob rose from the table. "No. Not at all Mr.… ah… Stoppable. The house is large enough so even you and Miss Yori can stay there if you want. It's the large white house five door east of here, you can't miss it it's the only white one on the block."

Ron Rose and held out his hand. "Thanks Bob. And please, call me Ron, Mr. Stoppable was my father."

Taking Ron's hand in the offered shake Bob forced a smile clearly understanding what Ron implied by 'was' his father. "No problem at all… Ron. And thank you for, well, all you've done so far."

Ron's eyes reflected sorrow again. "I only did what I absolutely had to Bob. I just wish there had been another way."

Twenty minutes later a muted blue light formed into a human shape a quarter mile from the mine where Ron knew there were people hiding. He didn't want to just appear in their midst since, if he was right, it was the Possible family and he was sure Jim and Tim would have a few surprises ready for any uninvited guests. As soon as the form was solid it took off at a jog directly toward the mine.

Tim Possible looked up from the old scavenged TV monitor he was staring at and poked his brother who was nodding off beside him. "Hey Jim, wake up. It looks like we have company coming." Jim Possible quickly confirmed what his brother saw on the dusty screen and quickly stood and made his way back to the living area they had hastily set up in the old mine.

Three minutes later James, Anna, Slim and Joss Possible had joined Jim and Tim at the mouth of the mine. Each of them was carrying makeshift weapons that had been fashioned and built by Jim and Tim. Tim whispered quietly. "I know someone's out there but somehow they're not showing on the screen anymore." He reached for a small pad of buttons next to his 'watch station'. "Should I flush them out?"

James Possible was about to answer when a strangely familiar voice called out. "Hello the mine. Don't set off any of the explosives Tim. I'm a friend."

James looked around at the others and saw each of them nod at him in turn. Quickly getting over the shock that whoever had called out not only knew about the explosives they had buried but knew they were about to set them off the Possible family had decided to take a chance, but each of them raised their makeshift weapons toward the sound of the voice. Taking a chance was one thing, being foolish was another thing completely.

James raised his head slightly, but just slightly. "Who is it? If you're a friend show yourself."

The voice called out immediately. "Okay Mr. Dr. P. I'm coming out. Just be careful where you aim those things, I never really trusted anything the tweebs put together."

Anna Possible gasped and she quickly turned to look at her husband who was already looking at her. "It does sound a little like him." He whispered as Anna's eyes began to water slightly. It was Joss who yelled out next unaware of the hopeful look that had just passed between Anna and James. "Just keep your hands up varmint and sashay out into the open where we can see you."

The voice answered with a chuckle. "Okay Joss, I'm sashaying." Moment later a tall shape walked around the side of the one remaining building with his hands above his head. When he got to within ten feet of the entrance of the mine he called out again. "Hold your fire, I'm going to take my hat off."

When he did there was a collective gasp from the Middleton Possible's and James had to reach down to keep Anna from rushing over the barricade they were couched behind. "No Anna, we can't be sure yet. You know how tricky Drakken can be. That could be one of those Syntho-drones like Eric." When Anna relaxed James called out again. "How do we know it's really you?"

The figure standing outside the entrance of the mine smiled. "Well, Syntho guys don't bleed right?" Everyone raised their weapons again when the figure outside the mine pulled the sword from his back. The figure then slid the edge of the sword across his other hand opening a gash that bled bright red even in the dimness of the evening. They all heard the exclamation. "Owww. Man that hurts."

Five minutes later Ron was sitting inside the mine and while Anna bandaged the cut on his hand he was talking to James, Slim and Joss. Tim and Jim were still at the entrance watching the TV screen. "Like I said, I can't explain everything right now, they'll be here by morning. I have to get you guys into town and get back out here before they do."

The reunion had been emotional but short lived when Ron explained his reason for being there. It was Slim that voiced the obvious. "Well, if they're coming here why in the dickens do you want to come back out here sport?"

Ron looked at Slim. "They're just an advanced party Mr. Slim. I have to make sure they're… ah… taken care of before I go after the Vanguard."

Everyone that heard that statement flinched. They were well aware of what the Vanguard was, they had been only one step ahead of them for years. Anna stopped bandaging Ron's hand and stared up at him. "The Vanguard? You can't face the Vanguard Ron, not alone. We just found each other again we can't loose you now."

Ron looked at Anna and smiled. Then he held up the hand she had just bandaged and unwrapped the meticulously wound bandage. "Don't worry Mrs. Dr. P. I'll be fine." Everyone gasped as the still seeping slice on Ron's hand glowed blue for a moment before sealing up leaving clean unblemished skin behind.

It took another three hours and a bit more convincing before Ron and Yori were headed back to the mine in the truck the Possible's had been using. Yori looked over at Ron. "What is your plan Stoppable-sama?"

Ron looked back at her. "Well, I kind of had to change it a bit Yori. Originally I was going to have you just be there to cheer me on, you know, kind of like a cheerleader. Besides you deserve to be in on this from the beginning considering… ah…." Ron looked at the jagged scar on Yori's left cheek that she absolutely refused to have him remove. "Everything, ya know. But now I'm afraid I have a special job for you. You have to keep and eye on someone and keep them safe."

As Yori looked quizzically at Ron he pulled to the side of the road and stopped. Opening his window he called out. "You may as well ride up here with us Joss. The road's a little bumpy form here on."

Three minutes later Ron was once again headed toward the mine but there were three people in the cab now instead of two. Joss was looking at Ron around Yori. "How'd ya-all know I was back thar Ron? I know ya didn't see me climb in."

Ron simply smiled but Yori answered her question cryptically. "The Chosen One had ways of knowing things Joss-san." As she turned to Joss with a smile she added. "I have found it best to just… ah… 'go with the flow?' when he is involved or I would be filled with unanswered questions."

An hour later the sun was beginning to brighten the sky as Joss, Yori and Ron sat just inside the entrance of the mine finishing sandwiches Ron had prepared and brought with them when Ron stood and looked out at the brightening sky. "They're here." Was all he said.

Ron was standing in the shadow of the mine entrance watching three forms make their way toward him without any attempt at stealth. The red and black suited form in the center swept his arms to both sides and the two eight foot tall battle droids immediately moved to both sides in a flanking maneuver.

Looking to both sides the center figure waited until the droids were in place before he called out. "You may as well come out. I know you're in there. And to quote an old TV show 'resistance is futile'. Moments later a tall dark clad figure wearing a hood slowly walked from the entrance and stopped twenty yards away. The red and black suited figure waited a moment studying the figure before he called out again. "Where are the rest of you? I want you all out here right now or I start throwing missiles into there."

For the first time the black clad figure spoke. "The Possible's aren't here any more. It's just me."

Surprise registered on the face of the other figure for a moment before he sneared at the black clad warrior. "And just who are you?"

Ron reached up and pulled the hood from his head and just stood there with a smile on his face. He saw recognition on the others face just before the red and black clad figure called out with an obvious sneer in his voice. "Stoppable."

Ron's smile widened. "Well hello to you too 901, I'm really glad they decided to send you first."

_Continued in Chapter 3 - First Encounter_


	3. Chapter 3 First Encounter

I in no way profit from these writings. Kim Possible and assorted cast are the property of Walt Disney. The following fan fiction in no way reflects neither Disney's original intent nor its intended characterization of any of the parties, real or fictional, that are contained in this story.

AN: I already had this completed as part of a larger chapter but thought it would fit better as a chapter of its own. It's short but starts to hint at things to come.

Still not sure I'm getting the, as Sentinel103 calls it, 'mayhem' right or believable. I do tend to stay away from actual gore and leave things to the reader's imagination. Let me know what you think.

Special Note:

pbow and sentinel103, Getting comments from both you was an honor. I've been a fan of your work as well as that of others to numerous to list since I started reading fan fiction. Thank you.

Again, R&R appreciated

* * *

**The Wanderer**

_By: obbiejoe_

**Chapter 3 - First Encounter**

Ron looked at syntha-drone 901 with a smile on his face. "You know the last time I saw you, you were… well, a lot thinner."

Even though it was a syntha-drone the anger showed clearly on 901's face. "We do not have time for frivolity Stoppable, where are the Possible's? The Emperor has decreed they should die and will not stand for any delays in the execution of his desires."

Ron slowly began walking toward the syntha-drone. "My, my, my. How formal. Did Drakken change your programming when he slapped a patch on you and pumped you back up or have you always been a dweeb?"

A sneer formed on 901's face as Ron walked closer. "You know Stoppable? I just realized that including you with the Possible's would in all likelihood make His Majesty's vengeance a bit sweeter."

As Ron and 901 were facing off Joss and Yori were not too far back from the entrance of the mine. Yori was peering over the barricade attempting to follow what was happening outside when Joss's voice whispered to her. "Hey Yori, looky here. Ronnie's on TV."

Yori took a moment to glance back to see what Joss was talking about and saw her staring at a dusty old TV. After a quick worried glance back over the barricade Yori slipped back to where Joss was standing and looked at the screen Joss was watching.

Joss had been right, on the screen was the slightly fuzzy image of Ron. Yori took another glance out of the mine and after quickly calculating angles realized what was happening. At least one of the Battle droids, the one on the right, was broadcasting a signal and somehow the equipment here had picked up that signal and was displaying it on the screen.

She was about to rush to the mine entrance and inform Ron of this development when she stopped and a smile formed on her face. Joss suddenly realized what was happening and called out. "Shit Yori, those varmints are sending a video feed back to wherever they come from. We gotta stop it."

As Joss straightened up and prepared herself for action she felt Yori's hand on her shoulder. "I believe it best to take no action just yet Joss-san. Allowing the transmission to continue may very well prove helpful to our ultimate goal."

Joss spun her head and looked at Yori. "Huh?" Yori just smiled as she watched the screen. "You have not yet seen the Chosen One in battle Joss-san. And I am certain that those receiving this signal are also unaware of his abilities. Perhaps we can instill a bit of discord through the ranks of the enemy by simply allowing them to witness what happens when the Chosen One is driven to anger."

Joss answered with yet another "Huh?" Yori turned to look at her. "Have patience young one. You will shortly understand my meaning." Then Yori turned to look at the screen again, three seconds later she chuckled and looked at Joss again. "I believe the Chosen One would take this moment to ask if anyone had any popcorn."

Outside Ron had stopped his walk toward 901. "You know Eric. I was always a little disappointed that Rufus was the one who got to take you down. I guess I must be living right or something to be given a second chance like this." Ron saw 901 glance around him quickly and knew he was looking for anything pink. "Don't worry Eric, Rufus is back home with his family. It's just you and me here this time."

901 fixed his gaze on Ron. "I am not concerned about your disgusting little rat Stoppable. The Emperor made a few improvements before he reactivated me and a simple rat bite would no longer result in a failure of my systems. I can even loose a limb and still function well enough to reduce you to a wet smudge on the landscape."

Ron simply smiled. "Wow, that's pretty radical Eric, I'm happy for you. No more having to clean up a mess of goop if you cut yourself shaving must be great." Then Ron lost his smile. "Tell you what… Eric, why don't you tell those robot things to just wait for a bit. That way it'll just be the two of us, you know, mano y mano, or maybe it should be mano y mecha."

901 was the one who smiled this time. "I have already done that Stoppable. Having them reduce you to your composite atoms would not be nearly as satisfying as what I am planning." Then 901 blazed forward with his hands clenched in front of him clearly intent on wrapping them around Ron's neck. His electronic mind registered surprise when the time he had calculated for him to reach Ron's position came and went with no contact.

Stopping quickly he noticed he was past the point where Ron had been. Somehow he had missed. Spinning quickly he saw Ron standing ten feet behind him smiling and with a sword in his hand. 901 quickly ran a diagnostic on his internal clock, there was no way he had given Ron time to not only move out of his way but draw the sword that had been strapped to his back.

The diagnostic came back with no errors and the total elapsed time calculated out perfectly. Deciding to run a more thorough diagnostic after he finished he reached out again, this time he intended to move a bit more slowly toward his target. Seeing the fear and anguish on his face as the life was throttled from him would be more satisfying anyway. As soon as he reached out in front of him he knew something was wrong, only one arm had followed the command.

Looking at the arm that had failed to respond all he saw was a short stump where the arm had been. Astonished at what had happened 901 looked over at Ron again. Ron simply smiled as he slid the sword back into the scabbard on his back. "Loose something Eric?"

Synthetic rage flashed through 901'a systems as he rushed forward again keeping his eyes on his target the entire time. When he was only two feet away something strange happened, something he had not known was even possible for a human, Ron's eyes changed from brown to blue.

That fact had just registered when he felt a blow connect with his chest, he flew six feet up and ten feet back and landed in a twisted heap back where he had charged from. 901's sensors heard the groaning and snapping that told him his resilient internal structure was attempting to repair itself as his head swiveled to see Ron making his way slowly toward him.

Still not able to move effectively, 901 was still lying there when Ron arrived. He was no longer smiling and his eyes flashed with the blue color 901 had seen just before he had been hit. The voice that registered in 901's sensors was not that of Ron Stoppable, it was deeper, almost a rumble. "You were right Eric, there's no time for this. KP's in trouble and I'm here playing games with you." He watched his target reach down and grasp the arm that was still attached to his torso before it was effortlessly ripped from his shoulder and casually tossed it away.

The deep voice once again reached 901's sensors. "I'm just sorry Rufus isn't here to see this Eric. The little guy still holds a grudge ya know." Then 901 felt the hands of his target grip his head and one last sound reached his sensors before everything went dark, it was the sound of snapping when his head was pulled from his shoulders.

Ron spun around toward the battle droids with 901's head still in his hands. With a soft "You're not gonna come back from this one Eric." Ron threw the head directly at one of the droids and smiled when he heard the 'splat' as the head literally disintegrated as it hit. A minute later the two Battle droids, the most destructive pieces of armament in Drakken's armory, were scattered across the area in small pieces.

The two women in the mine were still sitting at the TV but their postures and the expressions on their faces were totally different. Yori was leaning back casually with a smile on her face elated that she was once again able to witness the true power of the Chosen One. She had seen it before when Drakken's forces had inadvertently stumbled upon Yamanochi during the second Diablo attack. Ron had arrived there shortly after witnessing what he had thought was the death of Kim Possible seeking guidance and the destruction he reigned upon the forces attacking Yamanochi had left even Sensei speechless.

Joss on the other hand was standing and leaning toward the monitor. What she had just seen wasn't even possible. She had seen the aftermath of what a single Battle droid had done to a military base that had been harassing the new Emperor's efforts and it hadn't been pretty. But she had just watched as Ron tore through the droids as though they were made of Paper Mache. And what he had done to that guy dressed in red and black had almost caused her up throw up until she realized, when Yori pointed out the absence of blood, that the guy hadn't even been real but one of those syntho things the Emperor used.

Five hundred miles away another woman, dressed in green and black, was staring at a monitor. At first her reaction to what she had seen on the screen was similar to the one Joss had. But just as the screen went blank as the last Battle droid ceased to function her expression changed to an almost mirror image of the one on Yori's face.

Currently on the screen in front of her was a dialog box that read simply 'Do you wish to delete?" with a smile the green and black clad woman reached down and pressed the 'Y' on the keyboard. Quickly rising to her feet she left the monitor room with confident strides. As she left she turned to the two men she had chased out of the room earlier. With a grumble in her voice she thrust her index finger into the chest of the nearest man. "Your stupid equipment isn't working idiot. The droids feed was cut as soon as you left and I haven't been able to get it back since. You better get that crap fixed before the Boss finds out or both of you guys are in deep shit.

Spinning on her heel she allowed a smile to cross her face as she made her way down the corridors toward the room where the only other person in this insane asylum who would be happy about what she had just seen was being kept. Nearing door she replaced the smile with a scowl and walked up to the guard standing outside the door. "Open it up. It's torment time for the princess again." With a knowing smile the guard punched a code into a small console and there was a small 'click' as the door unlatched.

Once inside Shego raised her finger to her lips unseen by the guard. Taking her away she loudly said. "Get up Princess, it's time for another one of our 'talks'." As the door swung shut behind her she heard a chuckle from the guard. As soon as the door was shut she walked to a specific spot in the room and the other occupant of the room stood and moved to another. It was a practiced move that they had performed many times over the years, each move and every posture had been carefully choreographed with painstaking exactness.

As soon as they were both in place Shego pressed a hidden button in her glove and the live surveillance feed from the room, both visual and audio, was replaced with a scene the two of them had performed for the camera's years before. It was luck that the two of them always wore exactly the same clothing, Shego in her green and black and the other forced to wear the red and black that was the only thing Drakken provided.

Shego had been starting to worry that a new video would have to be made soon, both of them were aging and the false recording wouldn't fool people much longer. Fortunately, after seeing what she had just seen in the monitor room, she didn't think that would be necessary any more.

As soon as they were sure the feed had time to properly switch both women relaxed. It was the redhead that spoke first. "What's wrong Shego? You're two days early, did something happen?"

Shego smiled at the only real friend she had ever had. "You better sit down princess. I've got some news for you." Kim moved over and sat down on the bed worried that Shego might have some bad news about her parents. Shego had told her a week ago that Drakken was going all out trying to find them and she began to fear the worst, that only puzzling thing was the smile on Shego's face, if it was bad news why was she smiling.

After making a mental note of exactly where a chair was sitting Shego pulled it over in front of the bed and sat down still smiling. As soon as she sat she looked up into the worried face of Kim Possible. "Relax princess, I only came to tell you it's time for you to start packing. Getting the nerdlinger out of here has paid off in dividends. He apparently found the sidekick and, based on what I just saw, I think it's about to get interesting around here, really interesting."

Next: The Vanguard and the imposter


	4. Chapter 4 Interlude

I in no way profit from these writings. Kim Possible and assorted cast are the property of Walt Disney. The following fan fiction in no way reflects neither Disney's original intent nor its intended characterization of any of the parties, real or fictional, that are contained in this story.

A/N:

Since the fight scenes are giving me a little trouble I've pieced together an interlude composed of pieces I've thrown out and sprinkled with thoughts and ideas from those readers who had been gracious enough to write a review.

I've also separated out a bit of the back story between Shego and Kim and included it here to save space and reduce the constant switching back and forth later.

Hope you find this interesting and enjoyable. As always, enjoy and please, R&R.

* * *

**The Wanderer**

By: obbiejoe

**Chapter 4 – Interude**

Shego had stayed in Kim's room almost an hour. Appearances had to kept up for the time being but she knew that when shit finally hit the fan, and she was sure it would after seeing the sidekick in action, she would have to move, and move fast.

Ten years ago she had done what she could during the first Diablo attack, she had made sure that Possible's gadget bag was left where they could reach it and knew that the sidekicks little rat thing was still roaming around free somewhere.

When Drakken had finally told her the entire plan she almost ran, as fast and as far as she could. The only thing that had stopped her was the fact that Drakken's plan actually included, and planned for, people dying. She knew that if she left then and allowed that to happen, she'd feel as guilty as Drakken actually would be so she had stayed and had done what she could.

She's been inwardly happy as they had been loaded in that police van and was still proud of her performance on the roof thinking that when she got out, and she knew that would be soon, she'd still have her villain 'cred' and would find employment easily. Her escape plan this time most defiantly would not include Drakken, the blue idiot had finally gone completely mad.

She had been in shock when she found out Drakken actually had a backup plan in place. And the following morning found herself unable to do anything as Drakken's 'backup plan' shot and killed seven police officers before breaking them out. When they left Drakken had been escorted one way and she another, she didn't speak to or lay eyes on him until the morning of the day 'Kim Possible' died almost two days later.

She remembered her shock when she walked into the room and 901 was standing there. But that was nothing compared to her shock when she saw what was on the big screen at the far end of the room. On that screen had been what had to have been a live feed of the princess and her sidekick, she knew it had been live because the bruises she had inflicted on the princess almost two days earlier were still quite evident.

Drakken was almost cackling as he spoke to someone over his communications net. "Just make sure they're dead. Both of them, and when your done kill them again, I will not take any chances this time. I want them incinerated and the ashes scattered for miles in every direction."

It took all of her wiles to finally convince Drakken that he should pretty up one of his synthro-drones to look like 'Possible' and take her prisoner instead, then 'kill' the synthro-drone right in front of the sidekick. The thought of breaking the 'buffoon's' spirit really intrigued him but he had still insisted on killing the real 'Possible'.

It wasn't until she pulled him aside and told him she had a personal debt to pay to the 'Princess' and made some rather unorthodox suggestions as to the way she planned on paying that debt that Drakken smiled in glee and agreed to her plan. She knew that what she planned would be embarrassing for her foe but figured better embarrassed than dead. Truth be known, she had always grudgingly respected Possible for avoiding the trip falls she herself had been unable to avoid.

Drakken's plan, modified by her, went off flawlessly. The Princess had been gassed and spirited away with not one soul noticing that she had been replaced by a very lifelike syntho-drone. Still, close inspection by anyone, especially the sidekick, would spell doom to the entire plan. That in mind they waited until the sidekick was barely in sight and couldn't miss the color of the wig the syntho-drone was wearing that was an exact match to Possible's hair.

With the sidekick still several hundred yards away four of Drakken's goons had stepped from behind a line of bushes and opened fire. Shego still remembered the sound as several hundred shots ripped through the fake Kim Possible as she flopped in the invisible breeze of the gunfire. Coloring the green goop with red had proved very effective from a distance and, even knowing the truth, Shego still had to look at another screen that showed the real Kim, unconscious, bound and gagged, before she was able to draw a breath.

After the shots were fired another goon with a flame thrower had moved in and incinerated the area around the now 'dead' Kim Possible with a potent mixture that insured nothing at all would remain to indicate the body had not been that of the real Kim Possible.

By the time the sidekick had run up to the area the goons were gone and nothing but bare earth covered an area almost two hundred yards in diameter. The heat was so great that the area could not even be properly searched for almost two hours. That was the first time Shego suspected there was something odd about the sidekick. He hadn't waited, not even for a second; he had immediately run into the still blazing inferno and begun clawing at the ground seemingly unaffected by the heat or flames. Fortunately she was the only one still looking at the small screen and she never mentioned what she had seen to anyone, not even the Princess.

The easy part of her quickly formulated plan was complete. Possible and the sidekick were still alive, now all she had to was keep them that way. As it turned out keeping the sidekick safe was easier than she had thought, he disappeared that very evening and no amount of searching by Drakken, who wanted to gloat at seeing the 'buffoon' broken, turned up anything. That left only Kim herself she needed to protect.

As soon as the van containing the young heroine had gotten back to the lair and she noticed the lecherous looks the goons were giving her she could only think of one safe place to stash her, and fortunately it fit into what she had told Drakken exactly. With her perpetual scowl securely in place she walked up to the guards that surrounded the still unconscious young girl and began the charade that had been successfully protecting the girl ever since. "Strip her, make sure she doesn't have any surprises stashed anywhere and follow me." As she had hoped she saw one guard eyeing the unconscious girl lecherously as other guards began to cut the clothing from her body. She reacted quickly by throwing a small plasma burst into the floor in front of that particular guard. Then she spoke the words that cemented her plan into the minds of everyone. "No one, and I'll repeat that, no one, will so much as look at her funny, that sweet little ass now belongs to me."

It seemed to work, the particularly lecherous guard actually left rather than be caught looking at Kim's naked body and chance a plasma ball to the chest, which was Shego's favorite form of discipline. The rest just did their job objectively and efficiently and followed her as she led them toward her room. Shego was glad the Princess had been unconscious during the very through search the guards had performed.

Shego had learned shortly after joining Drakken's crew that the locks on her room had to be the best when panties had started disappearing from her drawers. Since she had replaced the locks no one, not even Drakken himself, could enter her room without her permission and she knew Kimmie would be safe in there.

Minutes later Shego was left alone with a naked and still unconscious and bound Kim Possible lying on her bed. Not willing to chance the 'Princess' getting loose and completely destroying her room she decided to stay there until she came to and she had a chance to explain things to her. That decision cost the world almost three million lives.

Unknown to her Drakken had a new plan already in place and, when she studied the plan later, it was nearly flawless, brutal, but flawless. Four hours after Shego entered her room and two hours before Kim began to stir, Drakken's plan was launched.

An entire fleet of hidden Diablo's launched from various locations around the globe each with their own activation unit . Their IA's were totally autonomous and preprogrammed with their objectives. They were also merciless, and anything that stood in the way of their objective was utterly and completely destroyed, it didn't matter if it was a military contingent, a hospital or an orphanage, it was destroyed.

It was only a matter of hours after the first strike that a majority of the world's governments capitulated. Those few that didn't… simply ceased to exist.

Drakken had been very selective of his targets, more so than even she thought possible for him. World wide communications still existed, but they were under Drakken's control, production facilities were mostly untouched as were farms and other areas that provided the basic living necessities. Drakken told her later that he did not wish to rule a barren and impoverished world and had actually planned for the aftermath for once.

Unknown to Shego, who had just begun explaining what she was doing to a still bound but conscious Kim Possible, Drakken was broadcasting his ascension to the position of 'Emperor of the World' worldwide.

Naturally there had been dissenters and, fortunately for those near them, the Diablo's had gone inert, something to do with the stress placed on their systems by making them autonomous. Unfortunatly Drakken was aware of this problem beforehand and already had more than enough of the now ever-present, and much more precise, Battle- droids to quash any rebellion before it could gain any momentum. This at least reduced the number of deaths due to collateral damage.

The world's population soon learned that they could stay safe, they could even stay relatively comfortable, all they had to do was follow the rules, Drakken's rules. If he wanted it, it was his, if he didn't like it, it was destroyed, if you did what he wanted, exactly when he wanted, you lived, and if you didn't, you died. Any deviation from his rules, any at all, were unacceptable and a Battle-droid was dispatched to 'settle' the problem, always quickly, oft times messily, and always, always the way Drakken wanted it.

Shego did what she could but had to stay not just under the radar but off it entirely. What she was able to do was small, at least it seemed so to her, but she was able to save more than a few lives and that helped her sleep at night.

Drakken had turned into a totally paranoid madman; she wasn't even allowed to 'light up' in his presence. Constantly guarded by two of his elite Battle-droids she couldn't make a move against him directly, the last time she had 'accidently' lit up one of her hands in his presence it hadn't even been hot enough to singe a hair on his head before the 'droids had their weapons trained on her, and the look on Drakken's face told her he wouldn't stop them if they decided she was a threat.

The pretence of keeping Kim as her sex slave had held longer than she ever thought it would. They had, with Wades help, made several tapes of sessions of sexual debauchery that had, so far, satisfied the people Drakken had watching them.

These tapes were played each time Shego entered Kim's room and had to be constantly updated so people wouldn't realize they had seen the same thing too many times. This resulted in a lot of 'live performances' over the years but Wade had automated the process very shortly after they started making the recordings so they had at least a modicum of privacy. That privacy however could not include the performers of the charade so she and Kim had gotten to know each other very well, very very well over the years.

Just as Ron, Yori and Joss were pulling back into Woodbury the remaining members of the Possible family were gathered at the large kitchen table talking to Wade via the Kimmunicator Ron had left with them. When they had heard that Kim was not only alive but apparently in good health and spirits James and Anna had broken down into tears but now, three hours later there were two other things on their minds, rescue and revenge.

As soon as Ron and the others entered the house Slim Possible jumped up from the table. "Are you okay Sweet Tea? Don't you ever go scarin me like that again. Leavin me a note sayin you was goin with Ron here back to the mine scared the livin daylights outa me."

Joss hugged her father as she retuned his embrace. "Shucks Daddy, twernt no danger with Ronnie there doin all the heavy liftin. Me and Yori just sat back and watched TV, Ronnie did everything else."

Slim looked up at Ron, "Thanks for takin care of her son. I don't know what I'd do if I lost her."

Ron looked at Slim and just nodded before turning to look at Jim and Tim, "I've got some stuff on the truck I want you guys to take a look at. I was able to scavenge some of the weapons from those Battle-droids and I need you to see if you can get any of it working. I think a couple of the pieces I brought back are kind of power supplies or something."

Ron wasn't even finished talking before the two Possible twins were out of their seats and headed out the door. Yori had to move aside or get run over as they passed. As Ron looked that way Yori caught his attention and bowed. "I will accompany them Chosen One and show them what you were able to salvage."

After a smile and a small bow Ron replied, "Thanks Yori." And watched her glide smoothly out the door tracing the steps Jim and Tom had taken a moment ago. Then he turned to face the remaining Possible's and saw the small turquoise device sitting on the table. "So, did Wade tell you guys the… ah… news?"

Anna, who had not had nearly enough reunion time before Ron had run back to the mine, rose from the table and moved over so she could grasp Ron by the arms and just stared at him as she spoke. "Yes Ron, he did. I take it you're going in to get her back."

Ron smiled. "I have to Mrs. Dr. P.. According to Wade she told me to." Anna just smiled as she pulled Ron into a hug knowing that he'd go even if her daughter had told him to stay away.

James Possible's voice interrupted the small reunion. "When are we leaving Ron?" he saw Ron's eyes shoot over to meet his and heard a quick "We?" before he stood. "Of course we. You don't think I'm just going to sit here do you? Slim and the boys are going too."

A female voice suddenly interrupted. "Hey, don't you ferget about me. Ain't no way I'm sittin here on mah ass while you guys go off and have all the fun. Besides, mah cousin would be right there iffin it was me being held, I can't do no less."

Slim Possible now added his voice. "Sweet Tea! You watch your language young lady." Everyone in the room recognized the fact that Slim had not said she couldn't go.

Ron took a breath knowing that if he told them they couldn't go he would be in for the fight of a lifetime. Resigning himself to the fact that he was now going to be accompanied by almost the entire Possible family he walked over to the table and picked up the turquoise device sitting there. As soon as he pressed the button Wade's tinny voice answered.

There was a somewhat lengthy discussion about when the Vanguard was due and if they had camped or not when Ron said a name that caught everyone's attention immediately. "Is Shego with them Wade?"

Wade's response surprised everyone, Ron especially. "I wish she was Ron, but no such luck. Drakken kept her back at the palace for some reason and I'm a little worried about that. It means that Kim is alone out there with the Vanguard."

It took a bit but Ron finally got a story from Wade that shocked everyone even further, Shego was the reason Kim was still alive after all this time. Wade had been a bit skittish about answering the many questions James and Anna had asked and Ron, knowing him best, knew there was quite a bit Wade wasn't saying.

Ron knew better than to question Wade about what he wasn't saying, if Wade was keeping things to himself Ron knew he had his reasons and he also realized the reasons were most likely sitting at the table with him. At least four of them were since Jim and Tim had not yet reappeared.

Deciding to catch Wade alone later Ron simply digested the surprising fact that Shego was acting as Kim's protector happy that he was hopefully going to be spared the fight he had been expecting when they finally ran across each other.

The Possible family was not yet aware that Ron had decided it was time to take the fight to the source. He had no intention of stopping after rescuing Kim. Once she was safe he was going to seek out, and obliterate, the man that had been responsible for turning him into the monster he thought he was. As far as Ron was concerned Drakken was already dead, he just hadn't realized it yet.

As the Possible's planned for Kim's rescue Shego was entering the throne room in Drakken's palace. She had asked for an audience with the 'Emperor' who had magnanimously granted her request. She needed to find out if Drakken was aware that the sidekick had resurfaced. If he had, things could get a bit more complicated.

As soon as she entered the Throne room, and genuflected according to protocol, she knew something was wrong. For the last four years Drakken had kept a slave constantly by his side but she was noticeably absent when she looked around.

Shego remembered her shock the first time she had seen this particular slave. She had been summoned to Drakken's presence to discuss a slight decline in Middle East oil production, which was her responsibility to oversee. Standing at his side with a red dot on her forehead and a vacant stare in her eyes was Kim Possible. Shego knew that was impossible, she had just moments ago left Kim's room and knew she was there.

Yet standing there was an exact duplicate of the woman she had just left. Then she spotted the slight differences, this Kim was younger, still a teen from the looks of it. She was also missing the scar that Shego knew for a fact marred the flesh of Kim's upper thigh. This Kim was standing there in an abbreviated duplicate of the slave outfit worn by Princess Leia in Drakken's favorite movie, It was so abbreviated that it left nothing, absolutely nothing, to the imagination.

Since that time Shego had been able to discover the 'slave' was actually Camille Leon. Drakken apparently harbored a desire to possess Kim Possible himself but fortunately was not so mad that he would attempt to take the real one from her. So he had done the next best thing. He had captured Camille Leon and placed her under the control of one of his mind control chips. Then he had told her to change herself into an exact duplicate of Kim Possible.

Shego cringed at the way he treated his 'Kim Possible' and silently thanked the heavens that Drakken never decided to take the real one. She had seen him order 'his' Kim to 'service him' in the middle of meetings and cringed thinking about the real Kim being subjected to that type of humiliation.

She began to worry when Camille was not present. If anything had happened to her there was a chance that Drakken would come after the real Kim and she knew that not only would she would die but she would be forced to actually kill the real Kim before letting anything like that happen to her.

Not allowing her fears to show on her face she came directly to the point and asked about the capture of Kim's parents feigning interest in what was currently Drakken's favorite project. She was shocked when Drakken cackled and told her that Kim's parents would soon be in his possession and that he had actually sent Kim Possible herself with his Vanguard so she could witness the death of her parents personally.

Now Shego knew Drakken had gone completely mad. He had sent his Kim Possible duplicate to witness the death of Kim's parents not even remembering she wasn't the real one. The man actually believed that 'his' Kim was the real one even though she hadn't aged in ten years.

Shego left the control room both relieved and concerned. She was relieved that Drakken had either forgotten about or dismissed 'her' Kim Possible and concerned that Drakken's madness was escalating which meant she had to be very careful in his presence, very careful indeed.

Knowing he would need a larger vehicle Ron had searched around and found an old converted school bus that the Town of Woodbury happily donated to him. In the matter of three hours the Possible twins had worked miracles with the salvaged material Ron had brought back from the mine. They not only had three disintegration rays working but had improved their accuracy and range of effectiveness to the point where they could be fired and hit their targets from almost a mile away.

As Ron pulled up to the house here the Possible's were anxiously waiting he went through the plan in his mind one more time. Wade had been able to determine that the Vanguard was comprised of one hundred of Drakken's human troops and three hundred or so of the older style syntho-drones. They were backed up by sixty Battle-droids half of which were the newer, more powerful ones recently developed.

Wade had even caught sight of a red haired person being transported in a cage by two of the newer style Battle-droids. The fact that she was being transported by droids, and only droids as far as Wade had been able to determine, had forced Ron to escalate his timetable. He knew from experience that 'droids' had a tendency to disregard the fact that people needed food and water to survive. More than once he had stumbled across the remains of emancipated humans that had been discarded like trash by the droids that had been transporting them when they died of water deprivation or starvation. He could not allow that to happen to Kim.

Three hours after he had pulled the bus up to the house they were ready. Jim and Tim had been able to mount two of the disintegration rays on the top of the bus on movable pivots and had actually been able to convert another to a completely mobile unit able to be moved by just one person. This unit had been claimed as the person property of Joss who fell in love with its destructive power the moment she had seen Jim test the unit.

Just before nightfall Ron topped off the fuel tank and the entire remaining Possible family, along with Yori and Ron, drove out of Woodbury on what most of those watching considered a suicide mission. The only four who felt that had a chance at all had been present in a certain basement when the Wanderer had first arrived. One of those was slowly rubbing his neck still able to feel the cold steel that had pressed there.

As the speeding bus pulled out of sight Mary leaned up against Bob's side gripping his arm tightly. "I hope they'll be alright Bob. I'm going to put them in my prayers tonight." Bob looked down lovingly at his wife, "They'll need that Honey, they'll need that." Then they watched until even the dust trail the bus had been leaving settled before turning and heading home for what turned out to be a peaceful night's sleep, their first in years.

AN: Well, The Vanguard and the imposter should be next if I can get the fight scenes right.


	5. Chapter 5 The Vanguard & the Imposter

I in no way profit from these writings. Kim Possible and assorted cast are the property of Walt Disney. The following fan fiction in no way reflects neither Disney's original intent nor its intended characterization of any of the parties, real or fictional, that are contained in this story.

A/N:

Another Chapter of the Wanderer saga. I was fortunate enough to have had the help of Sentinel103 and CajunBear73 and they did a great job adding action and believable dialog to the story. Thanks guys.

Harsh language in this Chapter leads me to warn those of you sensitive to such material that it exists. Please keep this in mind as you read.

Once again, please R&R. Even though I have an outline I'm open to suggestions and comments. Outlines can always be re-written.

Thanks for reading.

* * *

**The Wanderer**

_By: obbiejoe_

**Chapter 5 – The Vanguard and the Imposter**

Anna was starting to worry; Ron hadn't gotten any rest since they all began this trip almost eight hours ago. He hadn't even allowed anyone else to take the wheel of the bus simply saying he knew where he was going.

Each time they had come to an intersection or fork in the road he didn't even slow down, he simply made a turn like he had been making this trip his entire life.

Every twenty miles or so he'd slow for a moment, and for Ron 'slow' meant below ninety, and with his hand held out in front of him he'd slide it from side to side before heading off in a direction only known to him.

Anna couldn't be sure, especially now that the sun was glaring through the windshield, but she was almost certain that each time he waved it his hand was surrounded by the same eerie blue glow she had seen on him back at the mine when his wound miraculously healed. Whatever that was all about it seemed to spur him on to drive a bit faster, the look on his face growing more frightening after each 'wave session'.

Anna was currently sharing a seat with the oriental girl Ron had introduced as Yori, deciding she should get to know Ron's friend a little better. After watching the two of them interact at the mine, she felt reasonably sure there nothing romantic between them, but she also recognized that, for some reason, Yori seemed to trust Ron with her life. Exactly as her own daughter had all those years ago.

Looking over she saw Yori absently watching the landscape fly by the window, then cleared her throat to catch her attention before speaking. When Yori looked at her she smiled. "Do you have any idea what Ron's doing when he does that thing with his hand Yori? He's changed tremendously since any of us last saw him and you seem to know more of what he's capable of now than the rest of us."

Yori smiled politely as her soft voice answered. "He is determining the direction in which he needs to travel Possible-sama. He is … ah…'getting a fix' is how I believe you say it, on exactly what direction and how far ahead of us the Vanguard currently is. Once Wade-san was able to give him an idea of their numbers and makeup he was able to locate them easily."

Still not understanding exactly what Yori was talking about she merely said "Oh." before turning her attention back to Ron. Startling her slightly, Joss's voice came from the seat just behind her. "Aunty Anna, if Yori is sayin' that's what Ronnie is a doin' you can take that to the bank. Ah seen that man do stuff back at the mine that ah still don't believe."

Now that she thought about it there had never been any discussion about what had happened at the mine when Ron went back. He simply came back to the house with a truckload of scrap and said nothing more about it. Wanting to know what Joss had seen Anna spun in her seat to look at her niece.

Without preamble she launched right in. "Joss, exactly what happened at the mine? How many of Drakken's people showed up and how did you ever get them to let you leave?"

Joss smiled, happy to finally tell someone what she had seen. "Twernt no people there at all Aunty Anna. Just this syntho feller and two of them Battle-droids Drakken likes to send out after folks. Ronnie there seemed to know the syntho feller though, he kept a callin' him 901 or Eric or something. And for a syntho guy he was actually kinda cute, well, till Ronnie got done with him anyway."

This was the first Anna had heard any of this and her hands rose to her mouth in shock. If what Joss was saying was right then Eric, _the_ Eric Kim had been dating and later learned was a plant by Drakken, had shown up at the mine accompanied by two Battle-droids. Now this made no sense at all to her that Joss, Yori and Ron had been allowed to leave. "How did you ever talk them into letting you leave Joss? As far as I know those Battle-droids do not negotiate."

Joss smiled. "We didn't talk them inta anything. Ronnie there just up and tore them things apart. All of em. You shoulda seen it Aunty Anna." Joss sat up in her seat. "He and this syntho feller was talking when the other fella, not Ron, the other one, up and runs right at Ronnie like he was gonna tear him apart or somethin'. Next thing I know this Eric guy is standin' there with just one arm, Ronnie done cut the other one right off him with that sword of his."

Anna knew Joss was still talking but her mind had effectively shut down. Glancing to the front of the bus again she saw Ron sitting at the wheel with the sword Joss had just spoken about strapped to his back. She hadn't realized it until now but no one would carry a sword around like that unless they knew how to use it. And Ron using a sword just didn't fit the mold she had always placed him in. The last thought she had as the world began to fade around her was her worry about how much of the little boy they had all loved was still there, especially if he had been forced to use that sword on flesh and blood.

Anna awoke with a start to the sight of her husband staring down at her but even more surprising was that the continual rocking of the bus she had gotten so used to was absent. She instantly realized she had, for some reason fainted, and sat up so quickly she felt a momentary weakness. Quickly overcoming the weakness she came right to the point. "Why have we stopped? Kimmie's in trouble we can't stop now, not when we're so close!"

Then Anna almost fainted again when Ron walked over and peered over James's shoulder at her. It wasn't that he showed up so suddenly, it was the fact that his eyes… they were actually _glowing_ a deep blue. As weird as that looked it was when he spoke that she was able to calm herself, for he sounded exactly as he should, he sounded like the 'Ron' she remembered and loved "Don't worry Mrs. Dr. P. we stopped because this is as close as we can get without alerting them and, like we talked about, our success depends on how much we can surprise them.

As soon as he finished his eyes seemed to fade back to the normal brown shade she was used to seeing.

The plan they had formulated called for Ron to hide in the path of the Vanguard and wait until the two Battle-droids transporting the cage holding Kim passed him by. There had been a lot of concern about this because those particular 'droids' were at the very rear of the group which left Ron stranded in his 'hide' while almost the entire entourage passed him. After seeing the barrenness of the landscape, no one but Ron and Yori thought he could pull that off.

The others were to set up just behind a small ridge almost three quarters of a mile away where they would wait until just before Ron made his move to start enough of a diversion to hopefully draw one, or both of the 'droids' with Kim into the fray, allowing Ron to safely get her out of the cage and spirit her away.

The timing was critical and so far the only thing Ron would say about when they should start the diversion was "You'll know"

Just as Ron was about to set off to the area he had picked as his 'hiding spot' James spoke up. "Ron you can't be serious, it's going to be impossible for you to hide in that area. Look at it, there's nothing for miles, nothing at all. They'll spot you right away and then they might use Kimmie-cub as bait to get you and the rest of us to show ourselves, I can't allow that, she might get hurt."

Well aware of how protective James was of his daughter, Ron knew this was coming. With this in mind, he was prepared to deal with it. "Mr. Dr. P. I'm going to get back on the bus, count to ten and then come and get me."

James had no idea what Ron was doing. This wasn't a time for games, they had to come up with a new plan and do it fast. When he saw Ron climb the steps and enter the bus he immediately started forward with the intention to stop this foolishness as soon as he could. He was restrained by the surprisingly strong grip of Yori. "I believe the Chosen One requested you wait to the count of ten before following Mr. Possible, please do so."

By the time Yori had release his arm the allotted time had already passed so he stomped up the steps of the bus. Everyone standing outside heard his voice as he called out, "Okay Ron, this is wasting time just… Ron? Come on Ron… Ron?"

They could see through the dusty windows as James made his way from the front to the rear of the bus, stopping at every row of seats as he moved back. He spent a few seconds at the mobile disintegrator stored at the very back of the bus before he opened the emergency door and looked out. He looked over at the small group standing a few feet away. "Ron came out this way didn't he?" At the head shakes he received, "Where did he go, we're wasting time."

Anna was the first to speak. "He didn't come out this way Jim, I can see the entire bus from here and as far as I can tell he's still on it." James was about to argue when he was tapped on the shoulder. He spun around to see Ron standing right in front of him. "You walked by me twice Mr. Dr. P. Still think I can't keep hidden out there?"

"How did you…?"

"_Sir,_ does it matter?" the blond young man asked.

Seconds later Ron jogged away from the group as they climbed back onto the bus. Slim slid into the driver's seat and immediately started toward the small rise they were to they were to use as cover and concealment.

Two hours later Joss came jogging down the small incline of the hill five minutes into her turn on watch. "There's a dust cloud comin' from the direction Ronnie said we should watch. I figger we got another hour before they get ta the spot whar Ronnie is hid. We better start getin' ready."

Jim and Tim helped Joss unload 'her' disintegrator cannon from the bus and watched her wheel it away to the spot she had chosen to shoot from first, which was between two outcroppings of rocks. Her intention was to keep moving, taking only a couple of shots from each position. Not only to keep the Vanguard from zeroing in on her position but to hopefully trick them into thinking there were more of them than there really were.

Tim moved the bus into position now rather than take the chance of being spotted if he raised any dust by moving it later. Then they waited, waited for a signal they had no idea that they would recognize. By the time Ron wanted them to move he would already be completely surrounded and a time schedule wouldn't work since they had no idea whether the Vanguard was moving at a constant pace or not.

The only one who did not seemed worried was Yori. She was seated in a very uncomfortable looking position in the shade of the bus, her eyes closed and her hands resting palm up on her knees almost looking like a Buddhist statue with the serene smile. Of course both of the Possible twins noticed that her shape was considerable different from that of a typical statue of Buddha.

Yori's eyes snapped open moments before everyone heard what was distinctly Ron's voice calling to them from midair, "Two minutes everyone, and be careful I've never seen Battle-droids like this before. They look like they're a lot more armored than the ones I've seen before and the weapons may be a lot more accurate than we thought."

Joss looked around and saw that apparently everyone had heard the same thing she did before jogging off to her first position hoping to get off a few well aimed shots before being forced to move to her second position by return fire. Tim scrambled up to the firing position for the two disintegrators on the bus while Slim climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine.

Jim apparently had a few other tricks up his sleeve as he pulled a large box from the back of the bus and jogged to the top of the rise before he stopped and placed a small tube every three of four feet across the hillside, carefully avoiding the area where the bus would stop. The box was large and the devices he had were small so there were a lot of them.

When he jogged back down he quickly scrambled up the bus to sit behind his brother. James had pulled two of the energy rifles his sons had constructed from the bus and handed one to Anna. They weren't any good at the distance they were at but holding it made him feel better anyway. Watching Anna expertly check the charge on her weapon he knew she felt the same way.

Ron knew something was wrong as soon as the cage got close enough to make out its occupant. It looked like Kim, and when Ron recognized the small red device on her forehead it explained her lack of movement. But something still bothered him, something didn't seem right.

The diversion started exactly on time and the first wave of twenty or so syntho-drones burst into a cloud of green mist before the whining sound of the disintegrators was even heard. Ron had expected a fast and efficient reaction from the Vanguard; they were, after all, Drakken's crack troops. What he saw instead was mass confusion from all but the Battle-droids. When he saw one of the 'droids' standing near Kim's cage rush toward the front of the column he decided that the strangeness he was feeling could wait, right now it was the time for action, anything else would just have to wait.

When the cage was placed on the ground only thirty or so feet from his position he began to move and quickly began to fade back into visibility. He kept an eye on the Battle-droid that currently had its attention focused on the carnage near the front of the column as he crept closer to the cage.

As he neared the cage the feeling of 'wrongness' got stronger with each step he took. He knew that his first action would have to be the removal of what he thought looked like a compliance chip but without a Silicon Phase Disruptor that wasn't going to be easy. They would have to act fast to escape their precarious position and Kim would not follow his lead if she was still being controlled.

Luck seemed to be with him so far as he had been able to make his way silently to the cage without the Battle-droid taking notice. As he moved to the front of the cage his attention was focused fully on the 'droid' so he did not look at 'Kim' until he was positioned near enough to take a good look at the small red chip on her forehead.

That's when Ron saw for the first time just 'who' was sitting n the cage. It looked like Kim Possible but it looked like a _seventeen _year old Kim Possible, not the twenty seven year old he had been expecting. That's when Ron noticed the absence of the beauty mark on her left arm that she had always hated. Whoever this was it was defiantly not his KP. Quickly reevaluating his next action Ron knew that KP or not he had to get the person in the cage out and to freedom.

A close look at the chip convinced him it was indeed an old style compliance chip and simply plucking it from her forehead would not be a wise thing to do. He would have to do this the hard way. Just as he was about to slice through the bars of the cage his senses sent an alarm tingling through his body.

Quickly jumping to his right and throwing himself into a shoulder roll Ron was quickly back to his feet and watched as the spot where he had been standing was literally obliterated. The spot where he had been standing moments ago was now a two-foot deep crater. Knowing that his actions would send out an alarm Ron had no choice but to quickly pull the Lotus Blade from his back before he spun to face the Battle-droid that had finally noticed him.

The mystical blade once worn by the founder of the Yamanouchi School in Japan hissed in seeming hatred at the thing that had just tried to kill its wielder.

When Ron saw the weapon moving to aim at him again he made a bold move, one he would have never chanced taking ten years ago: He stepped to stand in front of the cage. A Boo-yaa almost left his throat when he saw that while the droid did swivel to follow him it lowered the weapon back to its side. He had been right; the droid had been programmed to not allow injury to whoever that was in the cage.

While he still wasn't safe by any means he had been able to give himself a little time. He used that time as wisely as he could by leaping upward and landing on the top of the cage before another leap gave him an arc leading directly toward the Battle-droid. A quick swing as he reached the top of his leap had exactly the result he had planned, taking out the sensors and the small antenna located near the top of the 'droid'.

Now effectively blind the 'droid' did as he hoped and froze in its tracks, not able to defy its main programming by chancing injury to the cage occupant if it moved or fired its weapons in the wrong direction.

Landing again Ron had expected at least the other enhanced 'droid' assigned as keeper to immediately make its away back to the cage. Instead he saw all of the remaining 'droids' making their way to the front of the column.

Now willing to trust that the Battle-droid he had effectively blinded would not react when he freed its captive Ron thrust the brightly glowing Lotus Blade through the remaining guard droid. Sparks flew as he twisted it amongst the circuitry present, then more sparks and smoke emanated from within as he sliced upwards through the primary computer, until, with a final 'pop' as the blade exited the head, the droid 'died' as it sagged and moved no more.

Thankful for small favors Ron turned and swung at the bars of the cage in two parallel sweeps opening the entire front of the cage as several of the bars fell to the ground.

Reaching in he pulled the occupant, he refused to call her Kim, from the cage and draped her over his shoulder before quickly began making his way toward the small arroyo he had seen when making his original selection for a place to 'hide'.

As soon as he dropped into the arroyo he set his charge down, peered over the edge to see what was happening before he planned his next move. What he saw sent small shivers down his spine. The advanced Battle-droids had taken a position at the front of the column and were being hit, seemingly without effect, almost continuously with barrages from the disintegrators the twins had mounted on the bus.

The occasional burst from what had to be Joss's portable unit still made it past the line occasionally, wreaking havoc among the syntho-drones and non-enhanced Battle-droids gathered behind the line of advanced 'droids' but not nearly enough to stop the continued forward motion of the entire group which would soon be close enough to the small rise to effectively return fire.

Ron was about to leave the relative safety of the arroyo when he saw a thin trail of smoke rising from the embankment where the Possible family was still causing enough of a diversion among the Vanguard that it had not yet been noticed that their captive had been freed from her cage.

Ron had not been aware that there had been any rockets among the weapons the Possibles had brought with them. The first two small rockets flew over the lead Battle-droids and into the swarm of syntho-drones before exploding with small 'pops'. At first Ron thought that, while the gesture was a bit intimidating the actual explosions were going to cause little or no damage unless they happened to actually puncture the tough skin of the syntho-drones before exploding.

What he saw was the syntho-drones that had been near the explosions dropping as if they were puppets who had just had their strings cut. "_Shrapnel_" was his first thought. _"The twins must loaded the rockets with something sharp enough to cut through the syntho-drones' outer layer_". Then two rockets scored a direct hit on one of the advanced Battle-droids and at first glance he refused to believe his eyes.

The Battle-droid stopped moving as soon as the rockets had exploded with seemingly no apparent damage against the armor plating. It teetered for a moment before it fell to the desert floor in a cloud of dust. Even from three quarters of a mile away Ron heard the distinctive yell of, "Hicka-bicka-boo!" which was answered immediately by a similar voice calling out, "Hoo-sha!"

Suddenly the air above the small rise was filled with dozens of the small harmless looking trails of smoke, each of them landing with devastating results among the quickly dwindling number of still functional Battle-droids protecting the rest of the troops.

As their protective screen slowly toppled to the desert floor it left the troops behind that screen vulnerable to the disintegrators. Green mist once again rose into the air but this time Ron saw small pockets of mist that were now being tinted with red.

Knowing that the now demoralized troops would be making a hasty retreat Ron picked up his red headed charge and, holding the Lotus Blade at the ready, made his way quickly down the arroyo, away from the path that retreat would undoubtedly take.

Along the route he did encounter three of the fleeing troops but didn't even break stride as the blade in his hand automatically made sure that he and his charge would not be deterred and with only two blurring strokes the glowing blade's thirst for blood was momentarily quenched. In his wake were nothing but pieces of what had once been part of Drakken's feared Vanguard.

Ron was able to avoid any further confrontations and made his way quickly to the end of arroyo and out into the open desert. Lifting his hand he set off in the direction he hoped the Possibles would be waiting.

He was halfway to the mound when the high pitched whine of the disintegrators winding down so he quickened his pace, hoping the Possible family had not been overrun. When he cautiously rounded the edge of the mound he relaxed when he saw the bus sitting two hundred yards away, seemingly untouched.

He noticed two figures scrambling down the side of the bus and rushing to its far side. Slowing his pace a bit as he neared the bus he realized something was wrong when he heard the voice of James Possible clearly. "Give her room. I'll take care of her. Don't crowd around like that."

Ron ran as quickly as he could without dislodging the person over his shoulder and was soon rounding the end of the bus. He was met with the business end of one of the twins' energy rifles with Joss sighting at him down the short barrel. She instantly lowered the gun. "Shee-it Ronnie! You gotta be a bit more careful runnin' up on us like that. I almost plugged you afore I saw it was you. I thought you was a ninja or somethin'."

Ron didn't even react to his close scrape with death and instantly asked the question that had been plaguing him since he heard Mr. Dr. P's voice. "Who got hurt Joss, how bad is it?"

Joss looked behind her at the group of people standing about ten feet away. "Twernt nobody really hurt Ronnie. But Aunty Anna kinda collapsed when she saw we was shootin' at people down thar. Uncle Jim is with her but I don't think she's said nothin' since she looked over the hill here and saw what was happenin' down thar."

The Joss noticed the red haired body he had over his shoulder. "Holy shit Ronnie, is that Kim? Is she okay?"

Ron's gaze was fixed on the group of people that had surrounded Anna Possible and didn't even spare Joss a glance. "Yes she's okay, mostly anyway. But I don't think this is KP, Joss. I'm not sure what or who it is but I'm pretty sure it's not her." Gently setting his burden down Ron looked at Joss. "Keep an eye on her for a minute Joss. I've got to see what's wrong with your Aunt."

It only took Ron a moment to see that Mrs. Dr. P was suffering from shock. That she had been involved with the deaths of actual human beings, even if she hadn't caused their deaths directly, had apparently been a shock to her since her entire life was based on the Hippocratic Oath which she was repeating bits and pieces of over and over under her breath.

Ron thought it best to allow her to come to terms with this in her own time and in her own way. If she hadn't begun to recover by the time the other situation that loomed over them was resolved, he might be forced to take action, but he would wait until it was absolutely necessary.

Once he had made his decision regarding the woman he considered his second mother he turned to Yori who was standing close at hand. "Watch her Yori. If she gets worse let me know right away." Then he turned to the small group surrounding the red headed facsimile of Kim Possible. Everyone except Yori, James, Anna and himself was gathered around her getting more anxious at her non-responsiveness as time went on.

When he arrived it was Jim who faced him first. "What's wrong with her Ron? Why is she just laying there?"

Ron looked at him. "You guys wouldn't happen to have a Silicon Phase Disrupter on you would you?"

Jim looked confused. "A Silicon Phase Disrupter? Why do you need…. Crap, that's what that is. It's one of those compliance chips!" Then his face fell. "Shit Ron. We don't even have what we need to build one. Isn't there any other way to get that off of her?"

Ron looked at him. "I don't think so Jim. But I know someone who might." Ron lifted the Kimmunicator he had retrieved from Yori who had it for safekeeping, and pressed the well-worn button.

As usual Wade answered almost immediately. "Thank God Ron! You're safe! I can't tell that much with the crap Drakken had orbiting the area. Is everyone else okay and did you get Kim?"

Ron allowed him to finish before he answered. "Everyone's fine Wade." Then he looked back to where Anna Possible was sitting in the shade of the bus. "Mostly anyway. But it's Kim I'm calling about Wade. Are you sure that it was Kim that you were talking to? Absolutely sure?"

Wade peered out of the small screen. "Of course I am Ron. I would swear on a stack of Bibles that it was Kim, why? Wasn't she there?"

Ron spun the visual pickup toward the form lying on the ground. "Is that her Wade? Is that the Kim you were talking to?"

Wade's voice issued from the device immediately. "What happened to her Ron? Why is she just… Wait a minute, that's not Kim, it can't be, she's way too young to be Kim. Who is that Ron?"

Ron turned the pickup back toward him. "I was kind of hoping you could tell me Wade. She can't answer any questions right now, she's got one of those compliance chips stuck on her."

Wade's eyes opened wide. "Compliance chips? What on… shit, Dr. Bortel. Ron! Aim the pickup back at her for a second."

Ron did as Wade requested and saw a beam of yellow light shine from the device for a moment and strike the compliance chip directly. As soon as the beam dissipated the red glow from the chip faded and two seconds later simply fell from 'Kim's' forehead. Then the strangeness started, 'Kim's' eyes opened wide and a scream left her throat just as her form started to bulge out in all the wrong places.

Before anyone could react to this the red hair faded and turned to blonde, then the body lengthened and got even thinner. The last thing to change was the face and Ron instantly recognized who was lying on the ground at his feet, Camille Leon.

When the scream faded Camille sat up and started yelling. "That fucking Drakken! I'm gonna kill that cocksucker! Nobody better get in my way cause that fucking blue ass is mine and I'll kill anyone who tries to stop me! I'm gonna grow myself a dick ten times bigger than that puny little pecker of his and fuck his blue ass till it bleeds and then I'll really start to hurt that mother…"

Slim Possible interrupted her rampage of foul language by placing the barrel of his rifle directly on her forehead. "Now you watch your language Missy. There's youngen's here. Now who exactly are you and why was you made up to look like my niece."

It was Ron who answered Slim's query. "I know her Slim, her name's Camille Leon. But as much as you, maybe more, I'd like to know why she looked like KP." Then he turned to Joss. "Joss? Can you get a blanket or something for Ms. Leon? What she was wearing seems a little big for her now and it wasn't all that much to begin with."

After a quick 'Sure thing Ronnie, be right back' Joss turned and sprinted toward the bus. It was then that everyone else, including Camille, noticed that the bra like top she had been wearing had fallen to her waist. Her arms went instantly to her chest to cover her exposed breasts, immediately stopping her ranting.

Not another word was said until Joss returned moments later with a light jacket. As she thankfully slipped it on Ron began again. "Now Camille, I need to know what you were doing in that cage and why you looked like KP… ah… Kim."

Ron saw Camille relax a bit now that she was covered but saw her glance at the twins and Joss before she answered. "Can we speak a little more… ah… privately?"

Ron knew she wasn't willing to say anything with everyone present so he spoke without taking his eyes from her. "Jim? Tim? Joss? Can you go check on Mrs. Dr. P. please?" Even though he had spoken softly the twins quickly turned and moved toward their mother. Joss had just opened her mouth to argue when Ron turned to look at her. "Please Joss."

Closing her mouth Joss nodded and followed the twins, but at a much slower rate. Then Ron turned to look at Camille again. But it was Camille who was asking questions now. "Look, I don't know who you are even though you seem to know me. I know you kind of saved me but I have no idea who you are or what you plan on doing with me. Can I at least know who you guys are?"

Ron smiled. "I'm Ron, Camille, Ron Stoppable, Kim Possible's fiancé." Both Camille and Slim looked at Ron for a moment apparently surprised at what he just said.

Then a look of recognition crossed Camille's face. "I remember you now." Then her eyes lowered. "I'm sorry for your loss Ron. Really I am."

Ron's voice caused her to look up again. "Kim's alive Camille, so save your condolences for someone who needs them. Drakken has her and I'm going to get her back. Now you can help us or you can just leave. I'll even give you enough food and water to walk to the closest town about sixty miles that way." Ron pointed in the direction of Woodbury. "But if you help us I think I can arrange to give you a few minutes alone with Drakken before I put him out of his misery."

For the next thirty minutes Camille explained as well as she could why she had looked like Kim and what Drakken had been doing to her since she had been captured. Then she painfully described what she said were only a few of the atrocities Drakken had inflicted on her, sometime during the middle of her monologue of debauchery that had been inflicted upon her by the 'Emperor', Slim had actually cocked his rifle in a barely controlled rage.

She told them that she had not seen Kim had no idea if was still alive but would be willing to do anything, and she looked Ron directly in the eyes when she repeated 'Anything', to get half an hour alone with Drakken with no compliance chip. Ron saw the look in her eyes and knew she wanted nothing more than to make Drakken suffer for what she had been forced to do.

Now that the fake Kim situation was under control, Ron turned his attention to Mrs. Dr. P. as Slim and the twins, who Ron had called back, got as much information as Camille had on Drakken's fortifications, weaponry and exact whereabouts. Fortunately for them Camille had been planning retribution since shortly after she had been turned into Drakken's slave and since the compliance chip affected only her will and not her cognitive abilities she was a veritable fount of information.

TBC:

Next: Chapter 6 - Travel and Surprises.


	6. Chapter 6 Travel and Surprises

I in no way profit from these writings. Kim Possible and assorted cast are the property of Walt Disney. The following fan fiction in no way reflects neither Disney's original intent nor its intended characterization of any of the parties, real or fictional, that are contained in this story.

This story is rated a hard M for language, adult situations and descriptions suitable for adult readers only.

Now that you have been warned… please read and enjoy. R&R appreciated.

* * *

**The Wanderer**

_By: Obbiejoe_

**Chapter 6 – Travel and Surprises**

As dusk settled the darkening sky hid the thin plume of dust being raised by a speeding bus as it made its way westward.

FADE OUT - FADE IN

Four hundred miles to the west a certain green hued woman was pacing worriedly in the quarters of her supposed captive while said captive sat before her with an expression on her face that the pacing woman found exasperating.

"How can you be so calm at a time like this Princess? Haven't you been listening to what I've been saying? Who knows what Drakken will do now? All bets are off as soon as that blue skinned idiot gets that report."

Kim smiled up at the obviously agitated woman she had called friend for almost ten years. "Calm down Sherry. I've said this once and I'll say it again, there's nothing to worry about." Then she stood and began arranging the covers on the bed in a very precise pattern. "Now come on and help, the tape we're playing ends in less than three minutes and we have to be ready."

Still with an exasperated look on her face Shego helped Kim precisely arrange the covers with practiced hands before both women began stripping off their clothes. Once naked they slipped into the bed and made one last check of their surroundings before arranging their bodies to exactly match the angles portrayed on the tape their watchers were currently enjoying.

As the final thirty seconds of the tape played out Kim whispered in Shego's ear. "Now that Ron knows I'm alive and where I am it's only a matter of time. You have no idea what my guy is capable of when he sets his mind on accomplishing something."

Shego shuddered. While there were no exact indications of who or what had torn through Drakken's supposedly unbeatable Vanguard she knew it had to be Stoppable. After what she had seen of his encounter at the mine before the battle-droids stopped functioning she knew that even Kim had no idea of exactly what he was capable of, and that scared her.

Hearing the quiet 'click' that told her the tape had ended and the camera's in the room were now capturing live images Shego turned her head to look at Kim's face. Her eyes were closed and the even breathing told her Kim had fallen asleep exactly on queue.

Shego's heart sank when she saw the smile on Kim's face that was fortunately hidden from the cameras view, it was the first genuine smile she could remember seeing in years and it spoke volumes about the diminutive redheads' true feelings. As she rose and redressed her eyes kept glancing unbidden back to the bed and she knew it was time to make a decision.

Sometime within the next few days her world was going to change. There were only two possible outcomes she could see occurring. The first would occur if the sidekick failed, with his faux Kim Possible gone it was very likely Drakken will take steps to claim the real Kim Possible as his own to feed his depraved ego, and that outcome was totally unacceptable. The second would happen if the sidekick actually did as the Princess thought and somehow freed her and took her away, that scenario was equally unacceptable. Either way one thing was certain, in the very near future she would lose the one person in the world she cared about, the one person in the world she had ever truly loved.

It had happened slowly, gradually. The protectiveness she felt growing deeper each day until she woke one day knowing that somehow she had done the unthinkable, she had fallen in love. Not only had she fallen in love but she had fallen for her one time nemesis and current supposed captive. The lovemaking sessions they taped suddenly held new meaning for her but after each session she returned to her quarters knowing that the love of her life was in love with another and her love would never be returned.

As she left the room she knew her choices were limited, help Drakken and at least keep Kim near her or help Stoppable and watch her walk out of her life forever. By the time she had reached her own room and opened the door her decision was made and she walked directly to her comm unit to set the first steps of her hastily devised plan in action.

FADE OUT - FADE IN

The sun rose the next morning to find the bus stopped beneath a grove of trees slightly less than fifty miles from the Emperor's palace. The peaceful surroundings belayed what was happening behind the dust covered widows of the bus. Behind those windows there was a flurry of activity.

During the night Anna Possible had stopped her recitation of the Hippocratic Oath and fallen into an uneasy but natural sleep. An hour ago she had risen and, while still obviously shaken, seemed to have come to terms with the demons she was fighting in her mind, at least for the moment.

The previous day Wade, with the help of Jim and Tim, had been able to covertly redirect one of the satellites and they now had a fairly clear view of the Palace and surrounding area.

Wade had reported that during the time he had been watching the Palace he had seen groups from the small village that had grown at the foot of the hill the Palace was built on move into and out of the Palace on a regular basis probably performing the menial tasks and grunt work rather than have it performed by the guards.

Unfortunatly the security precluded their using this as a way in. At every possible entrance there were two of the tireless battle-droids and a minimum of four human guards scanning everything, and everyone, who entered making entry to the Palace by any but those approved almost impossible.

Wade's escape route would also not be helpful in getting them into the Palace. He had been secreted amidst the daily collection of garbage and trundled out of the Palace by the guards themselves. If it hadn't been Shego herself who inspected the trash and allowed him to escape he would most likely be dead, or worse, right now.

While searching for a way in Camille and Joss were busily engaged otherwise. Surprisingly, Joss had turned out to be quite an artist and as Camille described the interior of Drakken's 'Palace' to her she sketched a very accurate view of what they were going to be looking at. Camille's memory of the interior of the 'Palace' was turning out to be quite a windfall.

As Joss completed sketching the layout of each floor of the palace and it was approved as accurate by Camille, Ron and Yori were committing them to memory.

Unfortunately Camille had no idea where Kim was being kept. She hadn't even known she was alive let alone being kept in the Palace. Camille had however been able to indicate the location of Shego's quarters and Ron, knowing that that was the best place to start his search, paid particular attention to this area.

An examination of the recorded tapes had shown the atrocities the villagers were subjected to by the guards and it was decided early that somehow the villages would have to be warned.

It was Yori who, after studying one of the maps, asked the question that gave them the hope of getting inside undetected. As she pointed to one of the drawn maps she looked at Camille. "Leon-san, you have indicated a hot spring bath located at this location. I fail to see any indication of a nearby area large enough to contain the necessary heating and recycling equipment, it is possible that the baths are supplied from an outside source?

Ron quickly had Wade zoom out on the shots he had of the area surrounding the Palace and after a few seconds of searching found exactly what he had hoped to find, a series of natural hot springs in the low hills just to the east of the Palace.

Having Wade zoom in on that particular area the entire group began searching for any indication the waters of the springs were being redirected to the Palace. As an engineer, it was James Possible who first spotted the odd formation of Rocks surrounding one particular pool but it was Yori who identified the hidden security measures that told everyone they now had their way into the Palace, hopefully without anyone being the wiser.

The rest of the day was spent devising a plan that would make the best use of their resources. By nightfall it was decided, Jim, Tim and Joss would provide a diversion by targeting the battle-droid guards with the EMP rockets and Joss's portable disintegrator while Ron, Yori and Camille attempted to infiltrate the Palace via whatever means were used to join the natural baths to the Palace.

There was quite a discussion about Ron's decision to include Camille to the team going into the Palace but Ron calmly explained that she was the only one with any firsthand knowledge of the layout and that, with her morphing ability, she would be able to disguise herself as anyone she wished, including the guards she was familiar with, and could actually be an asset to them by redirecting any patrols should anyone become suspicious.

James and Slim would be headed into the village itself. They were going to try and determine if it would be safe to make contact with the village leaders and give them a warning of what was going to be happening.

Anna would stay in contact with both teams using the somewhat bulky but functional communications devices Jim and Tim had cobbled together. It was decided that she would keep the Kimmunicator with her and keep in contact with Wade adding another layer to their intelligence.

With the bus left where it was for the moment Ron, Yori and Camille left a few hours after midnight to make their way to the hot springs while Tim, Jim and Joss would wait for the following afternoon to begin their long trek to the village through the woods to hide their approach. James and Slim would leave the morning after that and follow the much easier path along the road posing as wandering emigrants.

FADE OUT - FADE IN

Shego knew Drakken had received the report as soon as she got the summons to what Drakken laughingly called his throne room. As she approached she felt a shiver pass down her spine. She had read the report several times gleaning as much information from it as possible, there wasn't much except several blurry views of the aftermath taken from satellites but there had been one thing glaringly clear, Camille Leon was gone. She could only hope that the changes her earlier call had made to the report would have the desired effect.

As she waited to be announced she worried that Drakken would order her to deliver the real Kim Possible to him and had to calm herself lest she accidently activate her plasma and end up as nothing more than a smoking hole in the throne room floor.

When she was finally allowed to enter she saw Drakken sitting in the monstrosity he called his throne flanked by the ever-present pair of battle-droids. He was surrounded by lose pages of what she assumed was the report about the destruction of the Vanguard. This was proven to be true as she approached and recognized several of the satellite photos strewn on the floor around the throne.

Drakken was still holding several pages in his hands which were shaking with rage, each time he finished scanning a page it was tossed away to flutter down and join the others on the floor.

She stood there waiting for a full minute before Drakken even seemed to be aware of her, when he looked down at her he threw the remaining pages away and scrambled out of his throne to stand as they fluttered to the floor around him. When he started ranting Shego thankfully released the breath she had been holding. Her modifications to the report had apparently worked.

"I knew I should have sent you Shego. You would have never let anything like this happen. If you had been there the cheerleader's family would be dead by now and she would have had the final humiliation she so richly deserved."

Shego had to brace herself to keep from staggering with relief, by making sure the report repeatedly referred to the caged captive as 'Kim Possible' Drakken's warped mind was still convinced that the morphed Camille Leon was the real Kim Possible. "I've read the report Your Majesty, I still have no idea how anyone could have devised a way to defeat your battle-droids, especially the upgraded ones."

She was about to continue when Drakken fixed her with one of the wild stares she had been seeing more and more often lately. "Bah, don't you see Shego, somehow it was Possible, it had to be."

Shego was surprised at the convoluted twist that Drakken's demented mind had dreamed up. "But Your Majesty, she was caged and guarded by two of your battle-droids, how could she have…"

Drakken spun and fixed her with a mad glare. "I DON'T KNOW HOW! THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO FIND OUT FOR ME!"

She saw Drakken calm a bit before he continued. "I need you to gather whatever forces you think you might need and go out there Shego, I need you to figure out how she did what she did and then get her back. I know I can trust you; you seem to be the only one I can count on anymore."

Shego couldn't believe her luck. The stupid idiot was giving her just the opportunity she had hoped for. She could escape with the Princess and then it was just a matter of time. Stoppable was undoubtedly headed this way right now and avoiding him was at least one step in the right direction.

Shego pretended to be deep in thought for a moment before she answered. "I believe, Your Majesty, it would be best if I go with the smallest compliment possible to avoid attracting attention and possibly scaring her into hiding. I will gather two or three of the best trackers and leave immediately."

Drakken looked pleased as he responded. "See that you do Shego. And bring that little bitch back here so I can teach her what it means to defy me." Then he turned and walked back to his throne clearly dismissing her.

Shego quickly backed from the throne room hiding her smile until she was well on her way back to her rooms. She had no intention of bringing anyone with her but the Princess herself, properly disguised in a uniform naturally.

She knew Kim wouldn't come unless she gave her a good reason and she smiled inwardly as the perfect deception came to her. She would tell the Princess they were going out in search of Stoppable.

FADE OUT - FADE IN

Ron had Yori stay with Camille behind a hill that would hide them from view of any security cameras and proceeded alone. Camille herself was still breathing hard, not from exertion but from exhilaration. They had been just out of sight of the bus when Ron picked both her and Yori up effortlessly and began to run, she almost shrieked when the landscape began to blur as they began to move silently at speeds she was sure were not even possible for a human to achieve.

The complete silence of their passage had been eerie, the sound of the wind as it whistled past her was the only thing she heard the entire time, there had not been one other sound, not even the snapping of a twig during the entire time. The soft dawn light was just becoming visible when their motion stopped and she found herself deposited gently to her feet. Then it was just Yori and her standing there and she watched in amazement as Possible's ex-sidekick disappeared over the ridge of a hill at least two hundred years away.

She turned to Yori about to ask what had just happened when she spoke first. "Please sit and rest Leon-san, when the Chosen One returns we will have much to do."

As she sank thankfully to the ground she asked. "What just happened? Where are we?"

She watched Yori sink to an uncomfortable looking position next to her and motion to the hill Ron had just disappeared over. "Just over that hill are located the Hot Springs. The Chosen One is currently engaged in determining the path that will allow us to enter the Palace without detection. Please rest Leon-san, I do not expect a long delay before his return."

Camille watched as Yori closed her eyes. "But from what I saw on the map the springs were almost fifty miles from where we started, we can't possible be there already."

Without opening her eyes Yori replied. "I believe your estimate of distance is correct Leon-san but I assure you I was also correct about our current location."

Camille was sure enough about the plan that she had to question Yori's logic. "But Yori, won't entering the Palace now throw off the time table? I don't think Slim and Possible's father were going to even start for the village until tomorrow."

Yori's eyes opened and she stared at Camille calmly. "I believe the Chosen One had decided to avoid putting the others of our party at risk by infiltrating the Palace immediately."

Camille looked shocked. With the loss of the distraction the three of them would be going in the Palace with nothing to distract the guards. "B-But…But…"

She watched as Yori smiled at her cutting off her protests. "You need not worry Leon-san, simply follow the Chosen One's instructions and I assure you he will lead us to success."

When Camille showed no signs of relaxing Yori swiveled to face her. "Perhaps it will help to relax your mind if we spend the time while waiting with my teaching you a few techniques that will allow you to extract the most gratification from the time the Chosen One has promised you with your previous captor."

Twenty three minutes later Ron returned to find Camille with a wide smile on her face. He heard Yori talking to her but only caught the last few words. "…find it most effective in keeping the subject fully aware no matter how painful the process becomes."

Yori looked up as soon as Ron came close enough for her trained ear to detect his approach and she smiled slightly when she realized he was already within five feet of her, it had been years since anyone had been able to get within forty feet of her without alerting her tuned senses.

Swiftly standing Yori directed her smile at Ron. "Have you been successful in determining an entry path Ron-Sama?"

Deciding not to ask about the conversation he intruded on Ron silently moved toward them. "Yea Yori, I have. There's a maintenance door set into the rock face not too far from here and the only security I found was an old style alarm. Inside I found three Syntho-drones and one guard working on a pump. If we're going to go in we better do it soon before their missed."

FADE OUT - FADE IN

Shego looked Kim over with a critical eye. Even though she was sure no one would dare question the, when they left she wanted the Kim to look as much like the tracker she was pretending to be as possible. It was a stroke of luck that one of the best trackers happened to have a hair color so similar to Kim's that the difference was almost undetectable, especially under the helmet that hide her face.

As she circled Kim for the forth time she had to admit even she wouldn't realize this wasn't the tracker who was currently tied up in Kim's bathroom unless she looked very closely. Deciding that waiting any longer was beginning to get dangerous Shego thumped Kim on the shoulder. "Well Princess? Are you ready to go find Stoppable?"

Even thought she couldn't see her smile behind the helmets visor she heard the smile in her voice. "More ready than you'll ever know Sherry. I've been ready for ten years."

Shego knew that there would come a time when she would have to tell Kim the truth about their supposed search but had weighed the options and decided to worry about that particular problem only when she had to. Right now getting her as far away from Drakken and Stoppable was what mattered, how she was going to go about convincing Kim to stay with her was not a subject she cared to think about, not yet.

Getting past the first two checkpoints were even easier than she had hoped, as soon as she had been recognized the guards had simply waved her through without even a glance at her companion. They were only thirty yards from the last checkpoint when Shego realized Kim had stopped. Looking back she saw standing still and facing in the opposite direction.

Quickly hiding any anger she turned and made her way back to where Kim was standing. Placing her hand on Kim's shoulder she spoke softly. "Come on Pumpkin. It's only a few more yards and we'll be out of here. Don't you want to find that sidekick of yours?"

She was shocked when Kim reached up and lifted the visor of her helmet in plain view of anyone who might happen to look. When Kim turned to look at her there was a smile on her face larger than any Shego could ever remember seeing. "We don't have to go looking Sherry." The she looked back down the corridor in the opposite direction of the main gate. "He's here."

* * *

AN: Sorry for the shortness and delay of this chapter, I've kind of been waiting to see if this story gets purged since it is rated 'M'

Next: Chapter 7 – The Palace debacle


	7. Chapter 7 - The Palace Debacle

I in no way profit from these writings. Kim Possible and assorted cast are the property of Walt Disney. The following fan fiction in no way reflects Disney's original intent nor its intended characterization of any of the parties, real or fictional, that are contained in this story.

This story is rated a hard M for language, adult situations and descriptions suitable for adult readers only.

When we last left our story….

_She was shocked when Kim reached up and lifted the visor of her helmet in plain view of anyone who might happen to look. When Kim turned to look at her there was a smile on her face larger than any Shego could ever remember seeing. "We don't have to go looking Sherry." Then she looked back down the corridor in the opposite direction of the main gate. "He's here."_

Now on with the story….

* * *

**The Wanderer**

_Chapter 7 – The Palace debacle_

FADE IN -

In her years at the Palace Camille had seen a lot of revolting things. The abuse the guards inflicted on the townspeople would have made her physically sick if she hadn't have been under the influence of that damned chip and some of the things Drakken had subjected her to personally she would never forget. But the sight of what was on the other side of the door that Yori was closing behind her was now a permanent part of her 'never forget' list.

The syntho-drones didn't bother her all that much, she had seen Drakken have a battle-droid rip a few of them apart just for sport, it was the body of the guard, the human guard, or rather the few recognizable pieces she had seen that shook her. She now looked at the man Yori called 'The Chosen One' with fear, because anyone who could do that to another human being was truly someone to be feared.

Ron had moved forward keeping in the shadows as she and Yori waited for him to give them the all clear and she was still shaking a bit when Yori put a gentle hand on her shoulder seemingly aware of exactly what was going through her mind. "Leon-san, I can assure you, had there had been any other way Ron-sama would not have reacted so brutally. He takes a life only as a last resort and his soul pays a toll each time such an action become necessary.

Camille looked over at the lithe oriental girl. "B-but did he have to… to… I mean he was in pieces Yori, pieces. How could doing anything like that ever be necessary."

Camille watched as Yori actually sighed, it was the most human response Camille had yet seen from her. "It may help you to know that the Chosen One was not wholly responsible for that Leon-san. The…ah, blade he carries is… well, it is not a normal blade."

Yori watched Camille for a reaction and saw only patience. She instinctively knew that Camille was waiting for something, anything, to convince her that the man that had released her from Drakken's' enslavement was not himself a cold blooded killer.

Making up her mind she decided to divulge a bit about the mystical energies that were soon to be released on not only the so called Emperor but also on those who willingly followed him.

"Leon-san, the blade that Ron-sama carries is old, very old. It was not forged as a normal blade would be but was wrought and tempered from the very material that created the universe. It is also thought to be what you might refer to as sentient. It has a consciousness much as you or I have."

Yori waited, this was where most people who heard this story began to scoff. Camille however simply waited for Yori to continue. "There is much I cannot tell you Leon-san, but this I can and will convey to you. The blade has bonded with the soul of the Chosen One, Ron-sama's soul and the blades conscious are inseparable. Even when physically separated by vast distances the blade would, and has, responded to the call and need of its chosen wielder. What you witnessed in the anteroom was, I believe, the blade itself responding to a danger to Ron-sama."

Yori watched Camille glace at the closed door for a moment before returning her attention raptly to her. "While the blade has a consciousness it has no soul Leon-san. It cares little for any life except for that of the one it has chosen to be its master. Once we are engaged in battle you may see things you will later wish to forget, the blade will respond to any threat against Ron-sama and those he protects quite brutally and while it may seem to you to be Ron-sama controlling the blade, I assure you, quite the opposite will be true."

For the first time Camille responded. "You mean that the sword he carries will actually take him over? He'd be like possessed or something?"

This was the same reaction she had had when she was first told the stories many years ago and the corners of Yori's mouth twitched upward at the memory, and the explanation. "No Leon-san, not exactly. When the Chosen One has need the blade will give him the strength, wisdom and knowledge to perform whatever acts are necessary to answer his need." Yori looked over at the archway Ron had disappeared through a short time ago. "But when the Chosen One is in mortal danger the blade will also subjugate the soul of the Chosen One to allow him to perform the necessary acts needed without the one weakness that we all, as merely humans, possess, a conscience."

Yori saw Camille now look at the archway for a moment before turning back. "You mean he doesn't realize what he's doing?"

Yori felt her eyes misting a bit as she responded. "He knows, but the blade does not allow him to feel regret or remorse, not at the time. But once the blade feels the threat has been… eliminated…" She looked at the archway again and her gaze remained locked on it as she continued. "… the Chosen One will not only remember every life he was forced to take…but the way that life was extinguished." Then she returned her misting eyes back to Camille. "… and his soul will be scarred by each of them."

With a power of will Yori held back the tears that were threatening. "I have witnessed this myself Leon-san. Ron-sama was at the school I attended at the time of the Emperors second attack. At the time the school was attacked we had not only our own students but several hundred refugees from the surrounding area."

Yori paused as she silently remembered the students whose lives were lost that day defending the school and those the school took in. "I was privileged to be present when Ron-sama fully accepted the responsibility and burden that being the Master of the Blade represents."

"During the battle he was forced to take many lives to save the few we were protecting and I was witness to his sorrow after the battle." Yori fought against the tears again. "Ron-sama was lost to us for several days afterward Leon-san. None could console him as he prayed for each of the lives he was forced to take and he himself dug the graves for each of them. He worked through several days without rest to complete this self appointed task."

Getting her emotions under control Yori looked at Camille solemnly as she gestured toward the doorway Ron had disappeared through. "The man we are following is the most gentle and caring man I have ever met Leon-san. But, when the need arises, I fear there is not a force on the face of the earth that can stand before him and survive."

Camille looked back at the door momentarily. "So he… he feels sorry for what he just did in there?"

Yori looked deep into Camille's eyes. "You have but to look into his eyes to see the sorrow etched there Leon-san." Yori took a brief glace at the doorway Ron had disappeared through. "You have no need to fear the Chosen One Leon-san. When this is over I hope you will find it in your heart to join with me and pray for his soul."

Moments later Ron walked back through the archway from the hall. "The coast seems clear for right now and there's a hallway to our left that I think leads up in the direction we want. Are you guys ready to go?"

When Ron looked at her Camille saw in his eyes exactly what Yori had told her to look for, sorrow, sorrow and what clearly said to her, self loathing. But when he spoke it was with calm authority. "Camille, can you assume the shape of…" his eyes glanced toward the door that hid the carnage he so recently let loose, "… ah, that guard in there so you won't look out of place?"

Camille heard herself replying but found it hard to realize it was her voice. "I'm not even sure who that was Stoppable, I never saw his… ah… I mean…"

Camille shrank back slightly as Ron took a step toward her but quickly halted with resolve. "If I show you what he looked like, would you be able to duplicate him then?"

Camille glanced at the door again before straightening her shoulders and looking back at Ron. "Well, yea, I suppose so." She had thought he might reenter the room and retrieve the head and was surprised when he instead he simply reached out and touched her forehead. Instantly an image formed in her mind, it was the image of a guard, a particularly brutal guard that she knew, intimately.

When Ron withdrew his finger she shook her head at the memories that had filled her momentarily but quickly recovered. "Yea, I know… ah… I mean I knew him." Then she slowly began to morph. Not only did her features change but the clothes she was wearing began to alter. Seconds later and exact duplicate of the guard was standing there, complete with uniform.

Ron had merely nodded but Yori had drawn a breath. "Leon-san, that is amazing. Had I not seen it I would not have believed it possible."

Camille looked at Yori and smiled, which looked totally out of place on the face she was now wearing. When she spoke, with the deep timber of the guard she was now impersonating, Yori smiled. "What about you two, you'll look a little out of place even if I pretend to be escorting you."

Ron's voice answered. "Don't worry about us Camille. We have ways of… ah, not being noticed."

Camille spun to look at Ron and was surprised when he was no longer there. Turing to look at Yori she was shocked when Yori was no longer standing where she had been moments before even though there had been no way for her to slip by unnoticed.

A voice she recognized as Yori's seemed to come from mid-air. "I believe the Chosen One wishes us to proceed Leon-san."

Still shaken Camille heard Ron's voice at her side but when she turned to look there was no one there. "Take us to Shego's quarters Camille. I think that's where we should start."

Haltingly Camille walked out of the small room and took a moment to get her bearings before heading off to her left. After only a few yards the eerie silence had all but convinced her she was entirely alone when she felt a hand on her arm just as Ron's voice was heard out of nowhere. "What leads up this corridor Camille, the one to your left?"

Still a bit shaken Camille took a moment to recall exactly where she was and answered even though she had no idea where to direct her reply. "Ah… I'm pretty sure that would lead us out to the main entrance but Shego's quarters are up this way." As she spoke she gestured in the direction they had been moving.

Ron's voice issued from the silence. "I'm not worried about that anymore Camille, she's that way, up this corridor."

Camille answered quizzically. "Who, Shego?"

Ron's voice sounded almost happy as he replied. "No, not Shego, KP. And she's close."

She felt the hand on her arm turning her toward the corridor she knew lead to the main entrance. "But there are a lot of guards always at the entrance, not to mention a couple of checkpoints before we even get that far with even more guards. Shouldn't we…"

She felt the hand on her arm propel her up the corridor as the voice sounded again. "Don't worry about guards Camille, just start going this way."

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

Shego stood there staring open mouthed at the wide smile that graced Kim's face wanting nothing more than to slam the face shield down again and pull Kim out the entrance, forcefully if necessary. Shego knew who Kimmie was referring to, it couldn't be anyone else. But the direction she was looking lead back into the depths of the palace, a direction Shego knew couldn't possible lead toward anything but discovery and possibly death.

Shego glanced the way Kim was looking. "Don't be stupid cupcake, he can't possibly be that way, the only way in and out of here is the way we were going."

Kim made no attempt to lower the shield that had been hiding her face as she turned toward Shego. "I told you before Sherry, don't underestimate Ronnie…" then she looked back into the palace again and her smile widened. "… take my word for it, he's that way, and not to far away either."

Kim began walking back into the palace and Shego had no option but to follow her, if she had done anything else it would have alerted the guards that there was a problem. Looking at Kim as she was dragged along she knew that keeping their deception up was their only hope of getting out of here once Kim discovered she was wrong. "At least put that shield down again Kimmie, we don't want anyone recognizing you, not now."

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

Camille felt herself being all but pushed down the corridor. The unseen hand constantly at her back, guiding her and forcing her forward. The closer they got to the entrance the harder the hand pushed. Then they passed a corridor she knew well, too well. Only a few steps to the right was the door that lead to Drakken's throne room but a glance told her that Drakken was not there right then, there were no battle-droids guarding the entrance.

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

Shego stumbled alongside Kim every so often attempting to reach out and slam the shield down herself since Kim had made no attempt to follow her advice. She was looking up the corridor when she noticed a guard stumbling toward them, she recognized him as one of Drakken's personal human guards, one that stood particularly in the favor of the self proclaimed Emperor due to his streak of depravity that always seemed to attract Drakken's attention.

The odd thing was that, although he looked to be alone, he looked like he was being pushed along the corridor, and not to gently. As she wondered about this the worst possible thing that could have happened did happen. From a side corridor two of Drakken's elite battle-droids turned into the corridor she was in and began trundling toward her, that was bad enough but the fact that they were followed closely by Drakken himself spelled doom to her entire operation.

Shego stopped in shock at the sudden appearance of the last person she wanted to see at the moment and was only shaken from her shock when a mechanical 'HALT' boomed through the corridor. She knew instantly what had happened, Kim had kept walking instead of moving to the side of the corridor and dropping to one knee as Drakken had decreed.

The battle-droids had recognized this as a threat and reacted as they had been programmed; issuing the only command they would before opening fire. Fortunately the volume of that order had stopped Kim in her tracks and Shego knew she had a few moments to react.

With the threat momentarily stopped the droids had not opened fire and Drakken soon walked up between them. "What's going on up…" then Drakken recognized her and her looked at her quizzically. "Shego, what are you doing here? I thought I told you to…" Then Drakken stopped as he looked at the woman standing directly in front of him.

His face screwed up in confusion for a moment before breaking out in a wide smile. "Shego! You found her, you found that bitch and brought her back to me." Then his smile turned lecherous and he took a step forward staring at Kim's face. "I'll teach you to…"

Shego knew she had to do something; there was no way she was going to let Drakken get his hands on the woman she loved, no way in hell.

Even though she knew it would be useless she began tensing her body in that particular way that awakened her powers. She was well aware that the battle-droids would sense her actions and immediately reduce her to her composite atoms but she had to try, she had to keep Kim out of Drakken's hands even if it meant killing her.

Before she could even complete the thought there was a shimmering in the air and Drakken, who had been reaching out for Kim, was now simply standing there staring at the empty and smoldering sleeve of the ridiculous robes he always wore.

Shego detected a odor in the air, an odor she, and only she, would recognize immediately. It was the odor of charred and cauterized flesh. Glancing down she saw the still twitching hand that had moments before been reaching for Kimmie lying on the ground still clad in the black rubber glove.

Before she could react at all the thing she feared would happen happened, with mechanical efficiency the battle-droids opened fire. She cringed knowing she was about to be vaporized along with Kim. It took her a second to realize that that had not happened, she heard the distinctive whine of the disintegrators but there had been no ensuing feeling of having her atoms scattered to the four winds.

Opening her eyes she saw the lethal glow of the disintegrators splashing off a translucent blue shell that had formed around her and Kimmie leaving them totally untouched. Drakken had apparently gotten over the shock of losing his hand because his voice echoed through the corridor. "HOLD YOUR FIRE, I WANT THEM ALIVE!"

As soon as the destructive beams from the battle-droids ceased the translucent bubble faded out of existence. Shego was now face to face with an enraged Drakken. "What did you do Shego, I'll have you…"

He got no further before he was interrupted by a voice that seemed to be standing directly between her and Kimmie. Looking over she saw that shimmering again but this time it coalesced onto the form of a tall man dressed completely in black and holding a blue glowing sword. "Shego had nothing to do with it blue boy. If you're going to do something to somebody maybe you should start with me."

It took Shego a moment to recognize the voice but Kim had recognized it instantly and thrown herself at the black clad figure wrapping her arms around him as she shouted "Ron! You found me."

As shocked as Shego was Drakken was even more shocked but his madness quickly asserted itself as he shouted "Kill them! Kill them all!"

Shego looked back at the droids expecting them to renew their attack and was just in time to see the second droid go as motionless as the first one she looked at appeared to be. From around the head of the second droid an oriental face looked down at them holding a mass of wires in one hand. "I have managed to deactivate these two droids Chosen One but I fear they may have been able to signal for additional assistance."

With one arm wrapped around Kim the black clad figure was still staring intently at Drakken. "That's okay Yori and thank you. I'll take it from here."

Drakken was still gripped in his madness and began to shout hysterically, "GUARDS! GUARDS! GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Shego had forgotten that were only yards from the main gate where almost two dozen guards were posted and quickly spun to see them rushing forward even before the self proclaimed Emperor had finished yelling.

Without even turning to look behind him the black clad figure Shego now knew was Ron shouted back. "STOP WHERE YOU ARE, GO NO FURTHER!" As soon as he had spoken the first line of guards bounced back as if they had run into a brick wall upsetting the guards behind them and stopping the remainder in shock.

Drakken's madness showed through as he sneered. "Stopping them wont do you any good whoever you are. I have battle droids all over the world and if I don't send a signal every day they'll begin to destroy everything around them, only I can stop them and I have no intention of doing that. If you don't release me at once, AND give me the Possible bitch you're going to be responsible for the deaths of millions of people."

The black clad figure began to actually chuckle and Shego's first thought was that he was as mad as Drakken. Then he answered back. "Oh I don't know. I think I have someone here that might just convince you to not only abdicate your throne but call off all your stupid droids." Then he looked behind where Drakken was standing and directly at the guard Shego had seen stumbling up the corridor earlier.

Then Shego noticed for the first time that the guard did not have the boot licking look of adoration she was used to seeing on his face, instead he had what looked like anticipation, anticipation coupled with hatred.

Shego heard the reply, she heard it clearly. It was the voice she had expected to hear but the words made no sense given what she knew about him. "I can sure give it a try Ron…" then the guard actually sneered. "…but it might take longer than the thirty minutes you promised me, a lot longer."

Then Shego got the shock of her life when the guard suddenly morphed into an exact image of the Emperor. "And don't worry about the daily command, Drakken used to take me with him when he gave the orders to the droids so I know exactly what to say and exactly what to do to keep them in check."

Shego now knew exactly who the guard had really been and her suspicion was enforced when the Drakken look-alike morphed into an extremely large man who instantly began rubbing his crotch as he walked toward Drakken. Then he took hold of Drakken's arm and began dragging him effortlessly in the direction of the throne room. "Come on 'Your Majesty' we've got some things to discuss…" and after groping his own crotch again almost chortled as he added. "… and I've got something I want to share with you."

As they walked past the inactive droids the oriental girl was just slipping down to the floor. "Do not forget what I have told you Leon-san and please, if you require any assistance I would be pleased to share my knowledge with you at any time. This man had caused the deaths of many friends and fellow students and I would relish a chance to extract even a small amount of vengeance."

The large man stopped and smiled at the short oriental girl. "Give me a couple of hours first Yori, there are some things the 'Emperor' and I need to discuss in private. After that I would appreciate your help, and your guidance."

As the oriental girl bowed the large hulk Shego now knew was Camille Leon dragged a helplessly resisting Drakken once again toward the throne room.

Shego began to get concerned, they may have Drakken, they may even be able to keep the battle-droids in check, but that still left several hundred guards on the loose, guards that would be sure to attempt to free Drakken to maintain their status quo. Turning toward Ron she voiced her concerns. "Ron, there are other guards, not just here but scattered all over the globe. What it they…"

She was interrupted by the oriental girl. "That matter is being attending to at this moment Shego-san. Without the battle-droids protecting them my fellow students will be arranging for all remaining guards to retire from the former Emperors employ. How they retire will be totally up to them."

Shego turned to look at the short oriental girl. "B-but how will they… I mean how soon can you get word to them about what's happened?"

The Oriental girl smiled and bowed in Ron's direction. "I am sure the Chosen One has already alerted them Shego-san. In all probability before we even entered the palace."

Shego looked at Ron who still had arm wrapped around Kim protectively and saw him only nod and smile. Then he lost his smile and looked directly at her. "I hope we're not going to have a problem between us Shego, Wade told me you're the one responsible for keeping KP safe and alive and for that I owe you."

For the first time since Ron had first appeared Kim spoke into the ensuing silence. "Ron no, please. Sherry isn't only the reason I'm still alive she's also the reason I'm alive at all. Drakken was going to just kill me outright and Sherry was the one that stopped him."

Ron looked down at Kim who was still holding him in a death grip and then looked back at Shego. "It seems I owe you more than I thought. Then Ron's eyes flashed with a swirling blue for a moment and he did something Shego had never expected, he smiled.

Then he leaned down toward Kim again and whispered something to her that Shego couldn't hear. Moments later Kim nodded and then hesitantly released her grip on Ron. Ron then took a step toward Shego. "Can we talk for a moment…" after looking around he looked directly at her. "…in private."

As Shego nodded and gestured down the corridor Ron turned toward the oriental girl. "Yori? Can you find some ice or something and get Drakken's hand in it. I want him whole when he stands trial." Then a shrill scream echoed around them. "And you better bring some with you when you go see Camille, who knows what that girl might cut off."

Shego shuddered at the nonchalant way Ron referred to the removal of body parts and wondered if he really would be able to put back anything that Camille might remove. Then she looked over at where the girl that was apparently named Yori was gathering up the rubber encased hand and somehow knew he hadn't been being flippant, he had been planning ahead."

As she walked a bit further down the corridor out of earshot she saw the oriental girl bow to Kimmie and begin to speak, what they were speaking of she had no idea but she saw Kim answer her with a small smile before Ron called her attention back to him. "Do you really love her Shego?"

Whatever she had expected the bluntness of his question caught her off guard. It took her a moment as she stared at him with her mouth twitching but knew she had to be honest with him. Something deep within her told her that she would regret any lie she attempted to tell, any deception she tried to pull off. Somehow she knew he would know, he would know and after what she had seen she didn't want to find out what he might do.

Squaring her shoulders she looked up into the now chocolate brown eyes. "Yes Ron, I do."

She saw Ron nod once before he spoke again. "And you were trying to get her out of here, away from Drakken…" then he leaned down slightly. "…and away from me, weren't you."

A shiver passed down her spine but only seemed to strengthen it. "Yes Ron, I was."

She stiffened waiting for the inevitable explosion or blow or whatever response her admission might elicit from the tall blonde. But when the response came it left her totally confused. His response was one word. It was short and very much to the point. He had softly said, "Good."

As dangerous as this man was Shego almost slapped him. But instead she narrowed her eyes. "What exactly does that mean, good? What are you trying to say?"

The blonde looked away from her for a moment, in the direction where Kim was still standing and watching them. Then he looked back. "I'm not good enough for her Shego, not now, not after everything I've done. She cares for you Shego, she cares a lot. In time that may even turn into love, I don't know. I only know she's better off with you than with someone like me."

Then Ron reached out and gently placed his hand on Shego's arm. "Take care of her Shego, take care of her for me."

Then Ron turned and began to slowly walk back to where Kim was standing. What made her do it she could never really figure out. After everything she had seen him do, even knowing how truly dangerous he was she only waited until he was two feet away before she put her fists on her hips and all but shouted into the silence. "You get your skinny ass back here you stupid fucking asshole."

**TBC – The Grand Finale**.

* * *

A/N: Well, as I promised I am continuing this story. I have the next (and last) chapter blocked out and will most likely have it posted by next weekend although I am still open to suggestions on the final outcome as I have three of them currently penciled out and am racking my brain trying to figure out which would be best.

There are also several other stories that jumped at me out of the blue but are currently nothing more than a jumble of disjointed notes and ideas. Who knows what may come from them.

Until then, please read and enjoy. As always all reviews are appreciated, that's the only way I know if I'm doing this right.


End file.
